People aged 40 plus in 'hot spot' Hamilton communities can get vaccinated now

The city has expanded eligibility for certain 'hot spot' communitiesin Hamilton to allow people aged 40 and over to get vaccinated.

The change applies to two postal codeareas that were identified by the provincial government, as well as three others that have been identified locally by Hamilton Public Health.

The hot spots include: L9C, L8W, L8L, L8N, L9K.

People aged 40 and over that live in these eligible postal codes can get vaccinated at any of Hamilton's large-scale or mobile pop-up vaccination clinics by appointment only, according to a city media release. Walk-ins aren't permitted.

Residents have toshow proof of their address when arriving for their appointment.

How to book

Bookings at a mobile pop-up clinics can be made by calling the Hamilton Public Health COVID-19 hotline at905-974-9848, option 7.

The city is asking people calling for an appointment to be patient and call back iflines are busy.

Here are the dates and locations for two upcoming mobile vaccination clinics where people aged 40 and over in hot spots can get vaccinated:

• Salvation Army Meadowlands, located at 187 Stone Church Rd. W.,on April 30, May 1 and 2. The appointments run from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
  
• Bernie Morelli Recreation Centre, located at 876 Cannon St. E., on April 30, May 1 and 2. The appointments run from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Provincial expansion

The change comes on the same day that the provincial government also dropped its age eligibility for 114 designated hot spots. Ontario expanded eligibility to residents of some areas aged 45 and over.

Locally, that includesL2G (Niagara),L8W and L9C (Hamilton), andL9E (Milton.) People aged 45 and over who live in these areas can book through the province's online provincial portal.

As of Thursday, the province will also extend eligibility tochild careworkers in licensed child care settings. These appointments need to be booked through the province, and eligible workers need to show a letter from their employer.

In a release, The City of Hamiltonsays"appointment availability through Hamilton's large-scale clinics is limited at this time.More appointments will be available in the system early next week."

Two new outbreaks

Hamilton reported 119 new cases on Tuesday and two more deaths.

One person who died was in their 80s and the other person was in their 60s, according to the city data. There have been 355 deaths in the city since the start of the pandemic.

There have been 16,582 total cases. Of these, 1,558 are active and 86.8 per cent have recovered.

There are two new outbreaks. Three staff have tested positive at Kushies Baby, and two patrons and one staff member have tested positive as linked to theYWCA Downtown Hamilton Childcare Centre.

The outbreak declared Monday atCoppley Limited has now been linked to the B117 variant, which was first discovered in the U.K.

The outbreak at Green Mountain Lodging Home, which had 12 residents and one staff member test positive, has been declared as over. One person died.

The following outbreaks have also ended:

• 2126 Rymal Road East Construction Site with 22 cases.
• Flynn Canada Ltd. with two cases.
• Hamilton Police Service's Investigative Division at 100 Wilson Street with two cases.
• Friends of Jesus Christ Ministries of Greater Hamilton and Burlington with five cases.

The city's average number of cases per day has dropped again and sits at 147.

Hamilton Health Sciences is caring for 111 patients that have the virus, of which 44 people are in the ICU. St Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton is caring for 46 COVID-19 patients.

Brant

Brant has recorded 29 new cases. There are 306active cases in the county, according to itsonline data.

There have been 2,629cases overalland 17deaths. Sixteen people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19. A total of 2,306 cases areresolved.

There have been 47,454doses of the vaccine administered.

Haldimand-Norfolk

There are 291active cases of COVID-19 in Haldimand and Norfolk.The counties have recorded2,212cases throughout the pandemic.

Forty-one deaths are considered COVID-related and 1,875people have recovered.

There have been 36,372 doses of the vaccine administered.

Niagara

Niagara reported 101 new cases on Tuesday. Three more people have died, bringing deaths in the region to 390.

Niagara has seen 13,406 cases through the pandemic, including 2,740 cases that are active and 10,276 resolved.

There have been 167,581 doses of the vaccine administered to Niagara residents.

Halton

Another 124 people in Halton were reported as having COVID-19 on Tuesday, for a total of 14,644 cases since the start of the pandemic.

There have been 210 people who have died and 13,573 people who have recovered.

Thirty-six of the new cases were in Burlington. The city has 264 active cases and has seen 52 deaths.

There have been 3,332 cases in Halton that were a COVID-19 variant.

Six Nations

Six Nations of the Grand Riverhas recorded 25 active cases ofCOVID-19. There have been 486total cases and 451 are resolved. Ten people have died.

There have been 14 B117 cases, and 21 more cases that screened positive and require confirmation as avariantof concern.

One person is in hospital.

Six Nations is in alert level black of its colour-coded framework.