Hamilton shutting down 2 COVID-19 testing sites as case numbers, outbreaks continue to fall

Hamilton is shutting down two COVID-19 testing centres as the number of cases and outbreaks in the city continues to drop.

The East End Assessment Centre at 2757 King St. East will be shuttered permanently on July 10, the city says, with the West End Assessment Centre at 690 Main St. West set to closefor good five days later.

At peak points of the pandemic, the city was completing roughly 1,300 swabs each day across all of itscentres. But the average number of tests carried out in Hamilton over the past week has fallen to 286, according to a media release shared on Mondayannouncing the shut downs.

That meansthe site at Mohawk College on Fennell Ave. West will be Hamilton's only city-run testing centre.

It will continue to be operated by St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton until the end of December, with 400 appointments available daily and the ability to increase that to 1,000 tests if needed, the release states.

A total of 345,069 COVID-19 tests had been administered at Hamilton-runassessment centres to date, the city says, out of 738,473 overall.

Testing for those with symptoms will also continue to take place for vulnerable populations such as people in care homes, as well as those who are homebound or homeless, through the Shelter Health Network and mobile teams from the paramedic service.

Asymptomatic testing will also be available at some pharmacies.

Ten new cases of COVID-19 were announced in Hamilton on Tuesday.

The city has reported 21,329 cases throughout the pandemic. Of those, 95.5 per cent are resolved and 85 are active.

Four hundred people who tested positive for the virus have died.

Hamilton's seven-day average for new cases is 11 and it's current reproductive number for each case is 0.87.

There is one active outbreak in the city involving two staff members at Kirin Air Systems.

Hamilton Health Sciences is caring for nine patients with COVID-19. The hospital'sis at 91 per cent of its ICU capacity.

St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton has 13 patients with the virus and its ICU occupancy rate is 85 per cent.

Niagara

Niagara added just two more cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday for a total of 16,257 so far.

That includes 106 cases that are active and 15,736 that are resolved. Statistics from the region show 415 people who had the virus have died.

The Niagara Region has administered 492,007 vaccinationsto date and says 36 per cent of residents are fully-vaccinated.

Six Nations

There are no new or active cases of at Six Nations of the Grand River as of the end of June.

Five people were in self-isolation, none were hospitalized.

The reserve has seen 527 people test positive for COVID-19 over the course of the pandemic. Eleven people have died.

Thirty-threeper cent of residents have received two doses of a vaccine.

Haldimand-Norfolk

There are nine active cases of COVID-19 in Haldimand and Norfolk.

The counties have recorded 2,709 cases. Of those, 2,647 are resolved.

Forty-seven deaths are considered COVID-related.

The two counties have doled out 102,142 doses of vaccine and report 31,413 people have received both shots.

Brant

Three new cases of the virus have been reported in Brant County and Brantford in the past 24 hours.

The area has tallied 3,409 confirmed cases. That includes nine that are active and 3,379 that are resolved.

One person who is currently hospitalized. Twenty people who had the virus have died.

Forty per cent of residents have received two doses of a vaccine as of Sunday.

Halton

The Halton Region saw three more cases on Tuesday for a total of 18,031 to date.

Sixty-threecases are active, including 28 in Burlington, and 17,737 are resolved.

The region's website shows 231 people have died.

It reports a total of 623,138 doses of vaccine (both first and second shots) have been administered so far.