Halton’s MOH warns that rising COVID-19 numbers could soon lead to “devastating consequences”
Published November 19, 2020 at 5:09 pm
COVID-19 numbers in Halton are heading in the wrong direction, says the Region’s Medical Officer of Health (MOH).
Dr. Hamidah Meghani said today that Halton is moving along the same path as the rest of Ontario with an increasing number of cases.
“If we continue along this path we could see more than 100 cases in Halton per day before the holidays,” she warned.
Today (Nov. 19), the number of new cases reported in Halton was 39, but the average for the past week has been much higher at more than 50 per day.
However, Dr. Meghani said despite today’s lower numbers, the growth in cases has been significant and steadily increasing.
She said data compiled by Halton Public Health shows our incident rate has gone from three confirmed cases per 100,000 in early September to 55 per 100,000 by early November.
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Dr. Meghani stressed only the public can turn the numbers around.
“We all have to take personal responsibility and individual action to get the virus under control,” she said adding that government steps to move Halton into the “Red” or “Protect Category” of restrictions also will play a major role.
Again, like Canadian health officials have been saying for months, she said social gatherings and non-essential group activities are a significant source of how COVID-19 grows through the community.
“The virus spreads when people are in close contact and it can be passed on by people without visible symptoms,” she said. “As a community we have to act on this knowledge now. Our individual actions can either stop the spread of COVID-19 or lead to some devastating consequences.”
She urged people to stay home unless it is absolutely necessary to do otherwise.
As mentioned, Halton reports 39 new cases today with a total caseload of 564 infected people. Burlington has 16 of the new cases while Oakville and Milton each have 10. Halton Hills has three new cases.
In the past day one person has died in Halton due to COVID-19.
Ontario numbers show 1,210 new cases of people with COVID-19 today, with 28 deaths caused by the virus.
Peel Region is the municipality with most new cases at 361, followed by Toronto at 346, and York Region with 143 cases. Hamilton reports 50 new cases.
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