Proof of vaccination of Gray Cup-going fans offers ‘breath of relief’ for Hamilton’s top doctor – Hamilton

With football fans set to gather at Tim Horton’s Field for the Gray Cup final at the weekend, Hamilton’s medical staff said the evidence of vaccination policy at the venue was a “sighing relief.” relief” in avoiding a “super contagion event”.

Dr. Elizabeth Richardson said that the province’s vaccine certification initiative plays an important role on occasions like the big game on Sunday and is delighted that the province will not be scrapping the program anytime soon.

Richardson told 900 CHML’s Good Morning Hamilton.

“I’m sure it makes many of your listeners breathe a sigh of relief knowing they are participating and those around them have been vaccinated.”

In addition to the game, Football Federation Canada-sponsored events during Gray Cup week are requiring proof of valid immunizations in addition to following health and safety protocols in order to be able to attend the venues. .

Health officials are hoping to avoid a major incident like the city’s most notable super-spreading incident at SPINCO’s downtown Hamilton site last fall, which saw more than 60 gym-related cases.

However, the Department of Health said breakthrough cases could still occur despite vaccinations and that patrons need to be smart about wearing masks when not eating or drinking.

“That’s why we need both, we need to be vaccinated and we need to continue to adhere to public health measures even when we are in fully vaccinated crowds. ,” said Richardson.

The director of Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Desk concurs with the Hamilton Health Department that Sunday’s game is a low-risk scenario as it is largely an outdoor event.

“Outdoors are not the problem. That’s fine if it’s outdoors,” Juni told 900 CHML’s Bill Kelly Show

However, the top doc suggests that fans might want to forget about the popcorn and get a little better with their masking.

“You know, always seeing too many people wearing masks on their chin or up their nose… ‘oh yeah, it’s good enough for me to just cover my mouth.’ No, it’s not,” Juni said.

“Remember, this transmission is primarily airborne, meaning the air you exhale from your nose. If you’re infected and don’t know it, it’s the air you share with your friends or colleagues. “

During a health board meeting on Monday, Richardson was asked to comment on suggestions Ontario could be in the fifth wave of the pandemic after a surge, with 1,000 new daily cases reported. twice last week.

The Department of Health told Global News that top Ontario health officials describe the current swelling as a “continuation” of the fourth wave, which she also sees.

“We are in an extension of the fourth wave,” said Richardson.

“We’ve never really gone right down to mid-fourth wave lows like we’ve seen so far and where we are now.”

Several public health units have introduced restrictions over the past two weeks as Ontario reported its highest daily number of COVID-19 cases since early September.

Sudbury and the District, Kingston, and Windsor-Essex are among the areas that have reintroduced COVID health measures in recent days amid rising case rates.

With the holidays coming up, Richardson recommends “thinking harder” about others and “be mindful” of the connections that will be made in the coming weeks.

“If you’re sick, stay home,” says Richardson.

“We know there are other viruses circulating and so… go out and get tested, see what you might have.”

Richardson says she’s “satisfied” with the city’s current immunization rates for children since starting bookings for that demographic in late November.

Public health estimates that about 21% of the city’s 42,000 children aged 5 to 11 have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

“Of course, we welcome anyone in their family who may not be vaccinated to join them,” Richardson said.

Nearly 2,600 doses of the vaccine were administered daily to bring the city’s eligible population 5 years and older to 78.5% as of Tuesday.

The city has seen a roughly 18% increase in doses administered in the past seven days compared with the previous seven, largely due to the COVID-19 vaccine being made available to children.

As of Sunday, 85.1% of eligible Hamiltonians over the age of 12 were fully immunized while 87.8% had received at least a single dose. The city is still behind the provincial average with 87.4% fully vaccinated, while 90% have had at least one dose of vaccine.

Hamilton’s 60-plus population has already met the Department of Health’s target of 90% first and second dose coverage. Ages 18 to 24 represent the lowest vaccination rates with just over 77% fully vaccinated as of Tuesday.

Public Health reported 54 new COVID-19 cases in Hamilton on Wednesday, increasing the average daily number of cases seen over the past seven days to 34 from the 30 reported on Tuesday.

The city has also seen some of its case tracking metrics increase on a daily basis including the weekly positive percentage – which represents the number of positive COVID tests from labs – increased from 2.2% to 2.7% per week since December. No. 8.

This is still lower than the provincial average of 3.3%.

The spawn count – indicating community spread of the virus – also increased for the week from 1.06 to 1.26.

Active cases increased daily to 252 from 229 reported on December 7.

More than 75% of active cases are in people under the age of 50, while 40% are under the age of 30.

As of Wednesday morning, there have been 16 reported outbreaks involving a total of 47 cases in the city. Seven local schools are involved in 21 cases.

City health officials say schools have been producing about five cases a day since late October, with the greatest incidence among five- to eleven-year-olds.

In the past 14 days, both public boards have reported 87 cases, with 57 of the students.

The number of COVID-19 patients at Hamilton Hospital has remained essentially unchanged over the past week with the combined 13 patients at St. Joe and Hamilton (HHS) as of December 8. There are 15 patients reported as of December 1.

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