With COVID cases widely circulating in the community and the new Omicron variant already in Ontario, we cannot let our guards down, said Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, medical officer of health at Region of Waterloo Public Health.
“Although no local cases have been identified. yet. I would not be surprised to hear of identified cases in Waterloo Region,” said Wang at the board of health weekly update on Friday.
“Even when cases are identified here, it is important to remember that we would not go back to ground zero. We know what we can do to effectively slow the spread.”
Wang said cases are occurring more frequently among those who are unvaccinated and are rising among those who have been until very recently ineligible for vaccination that is among children five to 11 years of age.
“The more we build our community immunity and practice public health precautions, the greater our defenses against delta and Omicron,” said Wang.
She said the public health unit saw a steady increase in the number of daily cases in November, especially among those that are vaccinated.
“COVID-19 continues to circulate widely in our community, our wastewater data has also been showing widespread presence of the virus. We cannot let our guards down,” said Wang.
As of Friday, she said the seven day average case rate was 34 cases per 100,000 per week. Ontario's was 38 cases per 100,000 per week.
Wang said there has also been an increasing number of outbreaks declared in the elementary school cohorts and the trend will likely continue until more children between five to 11 years of age get vaccinated.
“Immunization has prevented significant spread in the older 12 to 17 year old school cohorts,”
She said the impact of the healthcare system remains moderate but the pressures on hospitals remain high in combination with other non COVID-19 demands.
“With the widespread circulation of delta and the need to remain vigilant in the face of the new Omicron variant. Our best defense is to get immunized in practice with public health precautions regarding the new variant,” said Wang.
“Since the start of the pandemic, we've seen a number of areas of concern emerge, alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and now Omicron.
“New variants are being detected at faster rates due to enhanced surveillance and detection capabilities in Canada and around the world.”
Wang said we must not let our guards down especially during the holiday season and encouraged community members to wear masks, physically distance minimize the size of any in person gatherings, avoid large gatherings and spend time only in well ventilated spaces
“We must remember though, that all the progress we've made together as a community counts in the face of new threats. It is much better to have a higher wall of defense than the lower one,” said Wang.
