Hamilton mayor to hold COVID-19 update as city reports 3 more virus-related deaths

Hamilton | COVID |

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Published January 18, 2022 at 12:09 pm

The number of active cases of COVID-19 in Hamilton has risen to 10,000 as of Tuesday (Jan. 18) as the city reports 356 newly confirmed infections.

Hamilton Public Health Services (HPHS) is also recording three more virus-related deaths on Tuesday, bringing the local death toll to 437.

On Tuesday afternoon, Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger, alongside the city’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Elizabeth Richardson and representatives from local hospitals and shelters, will host a special COVID-19 virtual media at 4 pm.

The press conference comes on the same day that Rob MacIsaac, Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) CEO, warned that hospitals were nearing capacity and experiencing staff shortages due to illness.

“We are working on several measures to cope with this very challenging situation,” MacIsaac said in a Tweet Tuesday. Measures are expected to include rescheduling surgeries and temporarily closing some clinics to redeploy staff to where they are most needed.

Hamilton Health Sciences

As of Tuesday, HHS is reporting the 78 people have been admitted to their local hospitals for COVID-19-related treatment and another 139 who were admitted for other reasons have tested positive for the virus.

Of patients at HHS with COVID-19, 29 are in ICU, where the occupancy rate is up to 101 per cent.

There are currently 492 HHS employees in self-isolation.

St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton

St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton is reporting that 90 people with COVID-19 are in hospital with 15 of those in ICU, where the current occupancy rate is 96 per cent.

According to St. Joe’s data, there are 169 staff members self-isolating at the moment.

Ontario data

Meanwhile, Ontario is reporting a record 4,183 people in hospital with COVID-19 on Tuesday, including 580 people in intensive care units across the province.

That’s up from 3,887 in hospitals on Monday, though not all hospitals report data from the weekends.

There are 37 new COVID-19 deaths being reported today.

Ontario is reporting 7,086 new cases of COVID-19, though Public Health Ontario has said the number is likely higher because of a current policy restricting who can access tests.

Eighty-two per cent of Ontario residents aged five and older have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and 88 per cent have at least one dose.

About 56 per cent of long-term care homes in the province have active COVID-19 outbreaks.

Eisenberger’s special COVID-19 update starts at 4 p.m. and can be viewed on the City’s YouTube channel.

— with a file from The Canadian Press

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