Lukas Bernasiewicz
This is Oakville's coronavirus update for Saturday, July 1, 2023. While COVID-19 remains a noteworthy concern in our community, looking back on Canada Day 2023, the hard work of those in Oakville have made the virus a manageable threat that most of us are now protected from.
Oakville's rate of new active cases in town has slightly declined and Halton's new cases are down by 25% for the second week in a row.
Hospital admission are also down from last week, notably from the decrease of new cases from outbreaks in Milton. Milton remains the only municipality with an ongoing outbreak, continuing the ongoing outbreaks in senior care the town has seen through May and June..
No one in Halton has died from COVID-19 in the last three weeks.
Halton continues to fall even further behind on vaccination: only 7% of Halton residents have a full series of immunization, and the pace at which the percentage of those with outdated immunization is only getting faster. Among those 50 and under, those fully immunized has dropped to a worrying 3.5%.
Nearly 770 million cases of COVID-19 have now been recorded worldwide since the start of the pandemic, though the global rate is finally beginning to slow down. Confirmed global deaths are nearing 7 million people, though the real count of unofficial deaths is almost certainly millions higher.
**Vaccine booking: All doses and booster doses are now available for anyone in Halton age 5 and up, though fourth doses must be at least five months since your last dose and 90 days since having COVID-19.
Halton continues to book first and second-dose vaccinations for all residents age six months and older, plus third and fourth dose boosters for anyone age 5 and up.
Oakville COVID-19 Update:
- 3 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported (2 less than last week)
- No one was hospitalized (same as last week)
- No new deaths (same as last week)
- No active outbreaks in Oakville - no change
Halton COVID-19 Update:
- 13 new cases of COVID-19 (6 less than last week)
- 2 people were hospitalized (1 less than last week)
- No new deaths (same as last week)
- 1 active outbreak in Halton - minus 1
Vaccinations in Halton Region:
- At least 1.56 million doses have been administered in Halton
- 90% of Halton residents have at least two doses (the primary series)
- 7% of eligible Halton residents (age 12+) are up to date on their booster shots (have had the primary series and a booster dose in the last six months)
- 56% of eligible residents have a primary series and a booster more than six months ago
Ontario COVID-19 Update:
As of April 2023, the province of Ontario is now only providing broad updates on the tracking of COVID-19 data once per week. These updates no longer include concrete, publicly released numbers of new cases and hospitalizations.
Listed below are the cumulative numbers up to April 15, 2023, when regular reporting stopped:
- There have been 1.60 million cases in Ontario to date
- 16,404 deaths to date (+36 this week)
- 812 people are in hospital with COVID-19 (+29 this week)
- There are 80 people in ICU (+6 this week)
- 89.85% of all eligible Ontarians (age five and older) have at least one dose (No change)
Canadian COVID-19 Update:
- Canada has had 4.57 million cumulative cases of COVID-19
- There are 565,000 active cases in Canada (+700 this week)
- 2,450 people are currently in hospital (-54 this week)
- There are 50,551 deaths to date (+25 this week)
- 82.70% of Canadians are fully vaccinated (+0.0015%)
Global COVID-19 Update:
- As of May 11, 2023, the United States is no longer tracking new, aggregate daily cases and deaths or new nationwide testing data
- U.S. cases to date are now above 107 million; 1.14 million have died
- Only 17.0% of Americans are up-to-date with all recommended vaccine booster doses
- 767.51 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic started; 6.94 million people have died
The evidence is clear: though transmission has dramatically slowed, vaccination (including all recommended booster shots) is still the best way to be protected from contracting COVID-19.
Local, provincial, national and international health units affirm the same data that Canada's approved vaccines and all boosters effectively protect you from COVID-19 and significantly reduces your risk of getting sick, going to the hospital, and dying from the disease.
Sources:
- Halton Region (and halton.ca/covid19)
- Halton Healthcare
- Joseph Brant Hospital
- HDSB COVID Advisory Page
- The Government of Ontario dashboard
- Public Health Ontario COVID-19 Data Tool
- Government of Canada
- COVID-19 Vaccination Tracker Canada
- The U.S. Centre for Disease Control
- Our World in Data
- Johns Hopkins University Research Centre
- World Health Organization