March 1, 2022 coronavirus update for Oakville

March 1, 2022

12:00 PM

Photo: CDC (Unsplash)

This is Oakville's coronavirus update for Tuesday, March 1, 2022. Today is the first day non-essential businesses in Ontario can allow non-vaccinated residents to return, but some businesses will still choose to enforce a proof of vaccination policy.

Oakville has announced a set of rules in response, including reopening Town Hall to in-person (by appointment) visits for the first time in nearly two years.

Beginning today, March 1, Oakville News will be transitioning from near-daily coronavirus updates to weekly updates, which will publish every Tuesday moving forward.

After five days of slight increases or unchanged figures over the last week, active cases in Ontario are down today. Active cases are now below 18,000 for the first time since November 2021 - though that number is still somewhat skewed due to restricted PCR testing access.

Canada's new eligibility rules of using Rapid Antigen Testing for international travel into Canada has begun, meaning a lab-administered rapid test is now acceptable for entry into Canada instead of a more expensive PCR test. Cumulative cases worldwide reach 430 million.

Halton Region has revised its website for reporting COVID-19 data, with far less information being provided daily as local case counts decrease. The regional data is no longer reporting the number of recoveries or active cases of COVID-19.

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**Vaccine booking: Halton continues to book first and second-dose vaccinations for all residents age five and older, plus third-dose boosters for all adults age 18 and up.

Parents must make booster doses and appointments for children in advance, but first and second doses for those 12 and up are available on a walk-in basis.

All vaccines approved for use in Canada effectively protect you against COVID-19 and all known variants of concern.

CLICK HERE to book a first, second or third vaccination appointment at a Halton Region vaccine clinic

Oakville and Halton COVID-19 update

Town Hall reopens to in-person visits by appointment; Oakville also ends proof of vaccination rules for town facilities
Halton's percent of the population who has been vaccinated hasn't improved in over three weeks
1.25 million total vaccinations have been administered in Halton
While no new outbreaks have opened in Halton this week, nor have any of the active outbreaks been resolved

Summary of Oakville vaccinations

70% of all Oakville residents are fully vaccinated
72% of all Oakville have received at least one dose

Changes in figures are since the Oakville News update on Feb. 26, 2022.

4 patients at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital - no change

14,061 total cases in Oakville (confirmed and probable) - plus 79
94 deaths - plus 1
2 active outbreaks - no change

Status in Halton

72% of all Halton residents are fully vaccinated
73% of all residents have received at least one dose

More than 1.26 million total vaccinations have been administered
48% of the population has received a third, booster dose

Changes in figures are since the Oakville News update on Feb. 26, 2022 or taken from provincial epidemiological reports.

12 patients in hospitals across Halton - plus 1

43,122 total cases (confirmed+probable) - plus 215
341 deaths - plus 1
5 active outbreaks - minus 3

Note: As of Feb. 12, 2022, Halton Region is no longer reporting the number of active cases, new recoveries, or people currently in the ICU. Halton Region does not release the names of businesses with active outbreaks.

Ontario COVID-19 update

Ontario ends remaining capacity limits and mandatory COVID-19 vaccine passport system use today
Hospitalizations are below 1,000 for the first time in months, but the total is up for the second day in a row
Active cases are now below 18,000 for the first time since early December 2021 - though that number is still somewhat skewed due to restricted PCR testing access
More than seven million Ontarians have now received a booster dose
85.11% of all eligible Ontarians (age five and older) are have two doses of vaccine; now only 5% from the provincial goal

Summary of provincial vaccinations

12.58 million people have received at least one vaccine dose (84.89% of total pop.)
At least 12.01 million people are fully vaccinated (81.02% of total pop.)

7.13 million people have received a third dose (47.15% of total pop.)
31.72 million vaccine doses administered (first, second and third)

Changes are from figures in our last update. The province released this information on March 1, 2022, as of the end of yesterday.

Note: Listed below are only the reported figures from the province and do not include all known active cases. Known active cases are no longer a reliable indicator of COVID-19's spread, given restrictions to testing access.

17,455 active cases - minus 723
914 people hospitalized - plus 65

Over 1.10 million confirmed cases - plus 2,338
Over 1.07 million recovered cases - plus 2,153
12,451 deaths - plus 18
Over 1.08 million resolved cases (deaths & recovered) or 98.3%
13,087 tests were conducted with a positive rate of 10.3%
278 people in ICU - minus 6
162 people on ventilators - minus 10
185 active institutional outbreaks - minus 10

As of Dec. 31, 2021, Ontario stopped reporting new confirmation numbers on how many cases are testing as a variant of concern, including the Omicron variant.

Canadian and Global COVID-19 updates

New research identifies a Wuhan, China market, not a laboratory, as the origin of the coronavirus
Almost all of Alberta's remaining restrictions have been lifted; Nova Scotia will lift all COVID-19 restrictions by March 21, 2022 and New Brunswick will lift theirs on March 14
Fully vaccinated travellers can now choose between either a PCR test to enter Canada 72 hours in advance or a lab-administered rapid test within 24 hours of arrival
Cumulative cases worldwide reach 435 million, cumulative deaths approach six million

Summary of national vaccinations in Canada

32.72 million people have received at least one vaccine dose (85.19% of total pop.)
At least 30.91 million people are fully vaccinated (80.82% of total pop.)

81.62 million total doses administered - plus 843,000
17.63 million booster doses administered (46.09% of total pop.)

Changes in figures are since the Oakville News update on Feb. 26, 2022. With the high number of cases nationwide and globally, all numbers are approximate (within 0.1% of the total.)

115,710 active cases - minus 2,300
5,098 active hospitalizations - minus 378

3.29 million confirmed cases to date
3.14 million recoveries - plus 3,990
36,642 deaths - plus 130
Ranked 80th in global deaths per capita at 95.44 per 100,000 people

U.S. COVID-19 Update

78.85 million cumulative cases
947,882 deaths - plus 8,251
65.0% of the total population is fully vaccinated
81.2% of the eligible population has at least one dose
Ranked 18th in global deaths per capita at 283.86 per 100,000 people

World COVID-19 Update

435.62 million cases - plus 1.20 million
5.95 million people have died worldwide
At least 10.77 billion vaccine doses have been administered worldwide (source: Our World Data)
Only 12.9% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose

Halton Region

The evidence is clear: vaccination is the best way to be protected. Local, provincial, national and international health units all affirm the same data that Canada's approved vaccines effectively protect you from COVID-19 and significantly reduce your risks of getting sick, going to the hospital, and dying from the disease.

Pictured right is a graph from the Halton region showing how dramatically your risk of getting sick or being admitted to hospital is when vaccinated.

Sources: