COVID numbers from Pickering to Oshawa continue to soar

COVID numbers continue to rise in Durham Region as health officials deal with what some are calling the seventh wave of the virus.

There were two new deaths in the region reported, with the weekly incident rate rising to 48.1 per 100,000 people from 37.9 the previous week and 29 the week prior. The total number of new cases is also up dramtically to 353, from 278 and 213 the previous weekly reporting periods. The per cent positivity rate is also up for the second week in a row to 11.1, from 10.1 and 7.6 per cent.

The number of outbreaks at institutions and long-term care homes has also spiked to 15, nearly double the previous week’s total of eight. Three of the new outbreaks are at local hospitals.