WELLINGTON COUNTY – Confirmed COVID-19 cases are up slightly in the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) region this week, and while hospitalizations are steady, there are more COVID patients in the ICU than there have been for some time.
There are 284 confirmed active cases in the region as of Aug. 17, up from last week’s total of 273.
Recent numbers seem to indicate the seventh wave of the pandemic may be levelling off locally following a significant increase in July, when cases nearly doubled.
In Wellington County, there are 71 known active cases as of Aug. 17, down slightly from 76 on Aug. 10.
In Dufferin County there are 51 active cases (essentially unchanged from 50) and in Guelph there are 153 (up from 131).
Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore stated earlier this summer that actual case counts across the province are likely five times the reported numbers.
WDGPH case data as of Aug. 17, 2022.
Hospitalizations
Thirteen people are hospitalized with COVID-19 across the region as of Aug. 15, which is down from 17 on Aug. 3.
However, the number of patients in an ICU (intensive care unit) has increased from one to five over the last two weeks.
Vaccinations
As of Aug. 17, across the WDGPH region 61.7% of residents aged 12 and older have received at least three vaccine doses, while 84.2% of those aged six months and older have received two doses and 86.7% have received a single dose.
At the county level, as of Aug. 17, 62.4% of Wellington residents aged 12 and older have received at least three vaccine doses, 82.6% of those six months and older have had two doses, and 84.8% have received a single dose.
The single- and two-dose figures have decreased since last week on the WDGPH dashboard as they now includes those aged six months to five years.
Deaths
There were two new deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the region this week: a man from Guelph and a man from Wellington County, both aged 80-plus.
As of Aug. 17, a total of 169 deaths across the WDGPH region have been attributed to COVID-19, including 57 in Wellington County.
Outbreaks
As of Aug. 16, there were four active COVID-19 outbreaks at health care facilities in the region, including the following in Guelph:
- Village of Riverside Glen long-term care home (Erin unit) in Guelph, declared July 24;
- Chartwell Royal retirement home in Guelph (facility-wide), declared Aug. 9; and
- Stone Lodge retirement home (facility-wide), declared Aug. 3.
