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This is Oakville's coronavirus update for Saturday, March 12, 2022. After nearly two years since the Town of Oakville declared COVID-19 an emergency, in light of declining cases and public health improvements, Mayor Rob Burton this week officially ended that declaration.
The emergency in Oakville (as declared by Mayor Burton) lasted from Tuesday, March 24, 2020 to yesterday, Friday March 11, 2022.
Several mask mandates in Ontario will be repealed in one week's time, while all mask mandates will end in April 2022. Non-essential businesses in Ontario can allow non-vaccinated residents to return, but some businesses are still choosing to enforce a proof of vaccination policy.
As of March 1, Oakville News has transitioned from near-daily coronavirus updates to weekly updates, which will publish every Saturday moving forward.
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 440 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.
**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.
Oakville and Halton COVID-19 update
- Mayor Rob Burton ends Oakville's COVID-19 emergency declaration, made nearly two years ago
- The percentage of Halton's population that is vaccinated has not improved for over a month
- Oakville has ended proof of vaccination rules at town facilities
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 March 1, 2022.
- 2 patients at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital - minus 2
- 14,307 total cases in Oakville (confirmed and probable) - plus 246
- 95 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
- 49% of the population has received a third, booster dose
Changes in figures are since the Oakville News update on March 1, 2022 or taken from provincial epidemiological reports.
- 5 patients in hospitals across Halton - minus 4
- 43,757 total cases (confirmed+probable) - plus 583
- 343 deaths - plus 2
- 4 active outbreaks - minus 1
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
- Over the next two months, all mask mandates will be ending in Ontario
- Active cases are now below 16,500 for the first time since November 2021 - though that number is still somewhat skewed due to restricted PCR testing access
- The province of Ontario, without explanation, has removed 400 deaths from the official provincial count
- 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 12, 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.
- 16,241 active cases - minus 1,214
- 722 people hospitalized - minus 192
- Over 1.12 million confirmed cases
- Over 1.09 million recovered cases
- 12,247 deaths - minus 400 (unexplained by province, see above)
- Over 1.10 million resolved cases (deaths & recovered) or 98.8%
- 232 people in ICU - minus 42
- 129 people on ventilators - minus 33
- 165 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
- Yesterday, March 11th, was declared a National Day of Observance for COVID-19
- New research identifies a Wuhan, China market, not a laboratory, as the origin of the coronavirus
- 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 450 million, cumulative deaths surpass 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 March 1, 2022. With the high number of cases nationwide and globally, all numbers are approximate (within 0.1% of the total.)
- 124,334 active cases - plus 9,624
- 4,277 active hospitalizations - minus 821
- 3.34 million confirmed cases to date
- 3.18 million recoveries
- 37,243 deaths - plus 601
- Ranked 80th in global deaths per capita at 95.44 per 100,000 people
U.S. COVID-19 Update
- 79.29 million cumulative cases
- 963,287 deaths
- 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
- 452.20 million cases
- 6.03 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
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:
- 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