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Niagara sees over 250 cases of COVID-19 in two days

Hirji says the province might look at curfew if cases don't begin declining after stay-at-home order
MVT stock COVID-19

Over 250 cases were confirmed in Niagara between Sunday and Monday. There are now over 1,000 active known cases across the region. 28 individuals are being cared for in hospital with COVID-19, Niagara Health said, up from around 8 in the past week. The increase could be in part due to patients from outside the region being transferred, said the region's acting medical officer of health, Dr. Mustafa Hirji in a media update Monday.

"Cases in individuals under 20 in Niagara are rising sharply. If cases continue to go up in that age group, things might need to change here," said Hirji, pointing at nearby regions that have seen school closures after outbreaks.

Hirji said people aged 20-39 have accounted for the majority of cases throughout the pandemic, but are also seeing increases right now, which could in part be due to a larger portion of that age group working in front-line occupations.

While 21 percent of Niagara residents have now received at least one dose of the vaccine, Hirji said hospitals have reported more hospitalizations in younger individuals, between 40 and 50, attributed to the COVID-19 variant. Last week, Niagara Health announced that they were forced to cancel some surgeries, even for individuals with cancer, to preserve capacity in the hospital system for COVID-19 care.

"If, over the coming weeks, people are not adhering to the orders as much as they should,. or if the variants continue spreading, I don't know what the province would do, but I think we need to look at things done in other jurisdictions, such as curfews or travel restrictions," said Hirji, pointing to Quebec that imposed a 8 p.m. curfew recently.

"I could see those measures coming into play."

Hirji said, provided that the stay-at-home order proves effective, that cases could continue to rise for a week or two, before flattening out and then declining. However, big gatherings, such as the one in St Catharines this weekend, could pose a threat to that happening.

"I am worried that we might be seeing many additional infections from that event," Hirji said.

 


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Ludvig Drevfjall

About the Author: Ludvig Drevfjall

Ludvig Drevfjall has been the editor of ThoroldToday since January 2020. He has worked as a journalist in Sweden, British Columbia and Ontario
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