The number of Waterloo Region residents contracting COVID-19 is occurring at a slightly higher pace in September than it was in August, which does not come as a surprise the area’s top doctor.
So far this month, Waterloo Public Health has announced 22 cases while the agency reported 68 cases in all of August.
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“I expect in September, we will have more cases than in August,” Dr. Hsiu- Li Wang, Waterloo Region’s acting chief medical officer of health, said Tuesday morning.
She says the numbers will continue to trend upwards as students head back to school and people become more active in the community as we continue with Stage 3 of the province’s recovery plan.
”I think people are having a little more confidence about being out there and interacting,” Wang explained.
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“So we are entering a stage where we are going to have more interactions so therefore I expect we are going to have more cases.”
While she expects the trend of positive tests to continue to head north, she is hoping the floodgates don’t open and things remain relatively stable.
“We have to try and still keep this balance where our cases are relatively low, as low as can be and we don’t start to increase at a rapid pace,” she explained.
On Tuesday, Waterloo Public Health announced an additional five positive tests for the coronavirus bringing the total number of cases in the area to 1,475.
There were no more cleared cases or deaths announced leaving the number of resolved cases at 1,323 while the death toll remains at 120.
This means the number of active cases in the area has quickly begun to rise again and now sits at 32.
An outbreak at the day camp has ended but a new outbreak has been declared at the Village at University Gates long-term care home in Kitchener after a staff member tested positive.
This is the third outbreak at the home. The initial outbreak, which lasted from April 1 until April 23, saw one resident suffer a COVID-19-related death.
There are two other active outbreaks remaining in the region at long-term-care homes including one A.R. Goudie and one at the Conestoga Lodge, which are both located in Kitchener.