Two deaths from COVID in Durham last week; flu cases on the rise
Published April 19, 2023 at 3:50 pm
The COVID-19 virus is still hanging around Durham Region, though most underlying numbers are down or remaining steady from last month.
One piece of viral news that is not good is the number of deaths: there were two during the April 9-15 period.
Dr. Robert Kyle, the Region’s Medical Officer of Health, said wastewater viral signals remain high, a telling sign that COVID continues to circulate among the community, especially among the elderly.
The number of new cases in Durham is down to 95 this period, a substantial decrease from the 129 reported in late March. The weekly incidence rate (per 100,000 population) is also down to 13.0 (from 17.6), but the per cent positivity rate rose slightly to 6.4 per cent (from 5.8 per cent); the number of outbreaks at hospitals, retirement centres and long-term care homes went from six to seven and there are 22 people in hospital with the virus, up one from three weeks ago.
There is one patient in ICU.
Local flu activity is also high in Durham with more than 500 laboratory confirmed cases of influenza already reported this season, with flu cases highest among the youngest residents, four-and-under.
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There were just 84 laboratory confirmed cases for the entire 2021/2022 flu season.
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