WELLINGTON COUNTY – As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, both locally and across Ontario, a third Wellington County resident has died from the virus – the first fatal case here in almost seven months.
The Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) online status report on Nov. 9 showed one new COVID-19 death in Wellington County.
WDGPH spokesperson Danny Williamson told the Advertiser the third death was a man in his 70s, but he did not indicate where the man lived.
Public health officials generally do not provide specific information about cases/deaths due to privacy reasons.
The death is the first in Wellington since April 19, when WDGPH reported the county’s second fatal case of COVID-19.
On April 5, Larry Nolan, 74, of Mount Forest, was the first Wellington resident to die due to the coronavirus (public health confirmed the death five days later).
New cases
There were 39 new cases of COVID-19 reported over the weekend in the WDGPH region, which now has 92 active cases.
Eleven of the cases reported on Nov. 9 were in Wellington County, which now has 22 active cases.
Guelph reported 15 new cases, for a total of 39 active cases, with two hospitalizations.
Dufferin County had 13 new cases and 28 active cases.
Three days earlier, on Nov. 6, both Wellington County (nine) and the WDGPH region (22) set new highs for daily COVID-19 cases.
“This underscores the fact that COVID-19 is still with us and circulating in our community,” Williamson said.
Provincial cases, weekly averages
The province recorded 1,242 new infections on Nov. 9, down slightly from the previous day, when Ontario set a new record with 1,328 new cases.
Ontario’s seven-day average of new daily cases continued to climb to 1,105.
The seven-day new case average, which officials often use to provide a clearer view of trends, is also on the rise locally.
On Nov. 9, Wellington County’s average was 3.43, while the region’s was 10.57.
Those figures may seem low, but they have risen significantly over the last two months.
On Sept. 9 they were 0.14 and 1.43 respectively; on Oct. 9 they were 1.0 and 6.57 respectively.
It is also worth noting, however, that testing volume has increased over time.
Prevention key
Public health officials continue to stress the importance of the following steps to help reduce transmission of the virus:
- wear a mask;
- restrict close contacts to those you live with;
- maintaining physical distancing with everyone else;
- practice good hand hygiene; and
- download the COVID Alert mobile app.
“Pandemic fatigue is real and many of us are feeling it,” said Williamson.
“The reality is that we need to stay vigilant until we have an effective vaccine or treatment”
