WELLINGTON COUNTY – Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) is reporting 100 new COVID-19 cases between Dec. 10 and 12.
Active cases region-wide have risen to 224 as of Dec. 6, the highest total since late May, when cases were on a steady decline following an April peak.
The case rate per 100,000 population has, as of Dec. 11, risen to 64.7 from 36.5 last week.
The rate of COVID-19 tests returning positive for the virus has also increased significantly from 2.8% on Dec. 2 to 4.2% as of Dec. 9.
The region’s effective reproduction number, used to measure how many additional cases spread or result from a single case, has decreased from 1.27 on Dec. 4 to 1.16 as of Dec. 11. A value of one or above means cases will increase; below one and spread will eventually cease.
There are five individuals with COVID-19 who are hospitalized in the region, of which three are in an ICU as of Dec. 8. Vaccination statuses are unknown.
According to provincial data, as of the morning of Dec. 13, there are 234 unvaccinated persons hospitalized with COVID-19 across the province, of which 68 are in an ICU.
Fully vaccinated individuals account for 109 hospitalizations across the province, with 25 in an ICU.
Omicron variant detected
WDGPH identified the region’s first case of the COVID-19 Omicron variant on Dec. 9 in a fully-vaccinated Guelph male aged 12 to 20.
Public health officials investigating the case are investigating potential related cases and are reaching out to high-risk exposures to the Omicron case.
Local trends
Wellington County had 36 newly-confirmed cases over the weekend reporting period, with 68 total active cases in the county as of Dec. 13.
There are 127 active cases in Guelph and 26 in Dufferin County as of Dec. 13.
Public health is reporting a new COVID-19 related death since last week’s update.
As of Dec. 13, there have been 128 deaths attributed to the virus across the WDGPH region, including 38 in Wellington County.
Municipality-specific active COVID-19 case counts as of Dec. 13, 2021. (WDGPH image)
Vaccinations
Since Dec. 6, another 416 people have become fully vaccinated with two doses in the WDGPH region, bringing the total as of Dec. 13 to 240,112 or 81.4% of the population aged five or older.
Since the population eligible for vaccination expanded to include those five years old and up, there has been a significant increase in the reported number of people who have received a first dose, up from 6,226 reported two weeks ago to 12,890 as of Dec. 13.
According to Ontario’s COVID-19 Advisory Science Table data, as of Dec. 12, there were 280 new cases every day per million people in those unvaccinated, compared with 74 cases per day in those fully vaccinated.
The data concludes there’s a 74% risk reduction of contracting a case with two vaccine doses.
In Wellington County 80.4% of eligible residents, including those aged five to 11, are two-dose vaccinated as of Dec. 13.
Mapleton continues to stand out among the rest of county municipalities, with less than 70% of its residents fully vaccinated—consistently the lowest vaccination rate in the county.
Vaccination rates across Wellington County municipalities as of Dec. 13, 2021. (WDGPH image)
Across the region, there are an estimated 11,615 high school students who are vaccinated with two doses; 294 with only a single dose; and 2,102 students who have not yet received a single dose.
In elementary schools falling within the WDGPH catchment area, there are an estimated 30,047 elementary school students in the public health region who are now eligible for vaccination.
Of that group, 12,439 elementary students are at least vaccinated with a single dose as of Dec. 13, up from 10,456 a week ago. There are an estimated 5,258 elementary students who are fully vaccinated and the remaining 17,608 students have not yet received a single dose.
Outbreaks
As of the morning of Dec. 13, 26 schools within the WDGPH catchment area have reported 74 active cases, up from 30 cases a week ago.
Outbreaks have been declared at eight Guelph elementary schools, one Guelph high school and at the Sunflower daycare in Orangeville.
An outbreak has also been declared at the Palmerston and District Hospital as of Dec. 9, after one hospitalized patient and two staff members tested positive for the virus.
