Hamilton adds nearly 1,000 COVID-19 cases as Ontario sets new daily record
Published December 30, 2021 at 12:41 pm
Hamilton Public Health Services added 998 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday (Dec. 30), bringing the total number of active cases to 4,020.
Hamilton Health Services (HHS)
Three additional people were admitted to Hamilton Health Services (HHS) hospitals to be treated for COVID-19 within the last 24 hours and two more are in the intensive care unit (ICU). HHS is reporting that there are 97 patients being treated for COVID-19 at their hospitals with 13 in the ICU.
Hamilton General Hospital is at 98 per cent occupancy. Juravinski Hospital is at 111 per cent.
HHS is reporting that 354 staff are self-isolating, compared to 314 on Wednesday.
97. 8 per cent of HHS employees are fully vaccinated and 13 individuals have had their employment terminated for not following vaccination guidelines.
St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton
The most recent data from St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton is from Wednesday (Dec. 29). There are 43 patients being treated for COVID-19 with four being in the ICU.
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St. Joe’s hospital occupancy was at 86 per cent. ICU occupancy was 70 per cent.
133 St. Joe’s employees are self-isolating.
97.9 per cent of the staff at St. Joe’s is fully vaccinated while four individuals are currently on unpaid leave for violating vaccination guidelines.
City of Hamilton vaccination numbers
79.3 per cent of eligible Hamiltonians are fully vaccinated as of Thursday with 84.5 per cent receiving at least one dose. 37 per cent of children between the ages of four and 12 are fully vaccinated. The vaccination percentage of the other age groups ranges between 84 and 99 per cent.
Unvaccinated Hamilton residents are being infected at a rate 2.7 times higher than the vaccinated, according to City data collected from Aug. 18, 2021, to now. The unvaccinated have also been 14.9 times more likely to be hospitalized and 30.3 times more likely to be admitted to the ICU.
Provincial COVID-19 numbers
Ontario has set another record for new daily COVID-19 infections, with 13,807 cases reported Thursday.
The province is also recording three more deaths due to COVID-19.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says 965 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, including 200 people in intensive care.
She says the seven-day average of COVID-19 related patients in ICU is 179.
Elliott notes provincial data is being updated to distinguish patients in hospital or intensive care due to COVID-19 from those who were admitted for other reasons but also tested positive.
The numbers come as Ontario’s top doctor is set to make an announcement on the province’s pandemic response.
—with files from The Canadian Press
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