Public health reports 54 new COVID-19 cases in region over weekend

WELLINGTON COUNTY – There were seven new COVID-19 cases reported in Wellington County over the weekend (March 19 to 21) – and 54 across the region.

The county also recorded its 35th COVID-related death, a 65-year-old woman who passed away on March 16, stated Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) spokesperson Danny Williamson.

The latest weekend case count of 54 is up from 43 last week and active cases in the region (135) are also up from last week (123).

WDGPH’s latest case rate per 100,000 population is 34.9 and its test positivity rate is 1.7%. A week ago those figures were 23.1 and 1.3 respectively.

County trends

Wellington County had seven new cases over the weekend and now has 22 active cases, a slight increase since March 8 (19).

The county’s seven-day average for daily cases, which is often used to indicate trends, is now 2.43, up from 2.0 last week.

Dufferin County now has 49 active cases, up from 31 one week ago, while Guelph has 60 active cases, down from 73.

Active case counts by municipality are included in the table below.

Municipality-specific active COVID-19 case counts as of March 22, 2021. (WDGPH image)

Outbreaks

There is currently just one facility outbreak in the WDGPH region, at Village of Riverside Glen in Guelph (two staff cases, declared on March 5).

An outbreak at Royal Terrace Long-Term and Residential Care facility in Palmerston (two staff cases, declared on Feb. 24) was declared over on March 20.

Public health defines an outbreak as one or more confirmed cases of COVID-19 within a facility (long-term care home, retirement home or hospital).

An outbreak is declared over 14 days after symptoms began in the most recent case and when no other cases are suspected.

Editor