WELLINGTON COUNTY – Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) is reporting 42 new COVID-19 cases over the weekend (Nov. 26 to 28).
The region’s active case count sits at 73 as of Nov. 29.
The case rate per 100,000 population has, as of Nov. 27, risen to 20.8 from 19.2 last week.
The rate of COVID-19 tests returning positive for the virus has remained steady at 1.9% since Nov. 4.
The region’s effective reproduction number, used to measure how many additional cases spread or result from a single case, rose from 0.81 at the end of October to 1.26 on Nov. 6 before falling slightly to 1.14 as of Nov. 27. A value of one or above means cases will increase; below one and spread will eventually cease.
Three people in the region are hospitalized with COVID-19, of which one is in an ICU as of Nov. 24. Vaccination statuses are unknown.
According to provincial data, as of the morning of Nov. 29, there are 143 unvaccinated persons hospitalized with COVID-19 across the province, of which 60 are in an ICU.
Fully vaccinated individuals account for 59 hospitalizations across the province, with 11 in an ICU.
Variant breakdown no longer reported
The Advertiser has previously reported the prevalence of the Delta variant in the makeup of COVID-19 cases across the WDGPH region since the variant was first reported here in public data on June 15.
Public Health Ontario (PHO) has, as of Nov. 16, stopped reporting specific variants of concern in its daily and weekly epidemiological summaries, citing Delta as the predominant strain of COVID-19.
PHO began allowing all positive COVID-19 samples to be sent for whole genome sequencing as of June 14—that practice will continue.
Local trends
Wellington County had 18 newly-confirmed cases over the weekend reporting period, with 29 total active cases in the county as of Nov. 29.
There are 37 active cases in Guelph and six in Dufferin County as of Nov. 29.
The death toll attributed to COVID-19 across the region remains unchanged from last week’s total of 127.
Municipality-specific active COVID-19 case counts as of Nov. 29, 2021. (WDGPH image)
Vaccinations
Since Nov. 22, another 717 residents have become fully vaccinated with two doses in the WDGPH region, bringing the total as of Nov. 29 to 236,208 or 87% of the population aged 12 or older.
That’s an increase of less than one per cent over last week.
As of Nov. 29, there are 6,226 residents who have received one dose.
According to Ontario’s COVID-19 Advisory Science Table data, as of Nov. 28, there were 208 new cases every day per million people in those unvaccinated, compared with 34 cases per day in those fully vaccinated.
The data concludes there’s an 83.7% risk reduction of contracting a case with two vaccine doses.
In Wellington County 79.9% of eligible residents are two-dose vaccinated as of Nov. 29.
Mapleton continues to have less than 70% of its residents fully vaccinated—consistently the lowest vaccination rate in the county.
Vaccination rates across Wellington County municipalities as of Nov. 29, 2021. (WDGPH image)
Across the region, there are an estimated 11,615 high school students who are vaccinated with two doses; 319 with only a single dose; and 1,943 students who have not yet received a single dose.
In elementary schools falling within the WDGPH catchment area, there are an estimated 4,807 eligible elementary school students at least 12 years old who are vaccinated with two doses; 216 with only a single dose; and 1,156 students who have not yet received a single dose.
Outbreaks
There is currently an outbreak of COVID-19 at the Butterfly Salon in Guelph, declared on Nov. 20.
As of the morning of Nov. 29, six schools within the WDGPH catchment area have reported nine active cases.
Outbreaks have been declared at a private child care setting with three child cases; and at Norwell District Secondary School, which has two cases. Both outbreaks are within Wellington County.
