Hamilton now has 91 confirmed cases of COVID-19, health officials say

Hamilton had its largest single-day jump of COVID-19 cases as 21 new patients were reported, bringing the total to 91 as of Monday afternoon.

But that case count doesn't include an additional 27 residents and staff at Heritage Green Nursing Home who have also fallen ill.

After three residents and one staff member at Heritage Green tested positive for COVID-19, including the resident who died, the city's medical officer of health Dr. Elizabeth Richardson said it's not necessary to test the others because it's clear what's led to the symptoms.

"Once you've identified what the virus is that's causing the outbreak, we don't do more tests," she said during the city's virtual press conference Monday. "It's not a good use of testing supplies."

Together, that would put the city's total of confirmed and presumed cases at 118.

The spike in confirmed cases over the last few days is the result of the backlogin getting tests processed,Richardson said. This meant that people who started experiencing symptoms on March 13 are still having their tests assessed.

Richardson said the number of cases is expected to rise as older tests continue to be checked and that backlog is cleared.

Of the city's 91 confirmed cases, one person has died and three are long-term care residents. The majority of those infected are people between the ages of 20 and 44, with community spread accounting for 21 cases.

The city also placed its first person in the isolation centre at Bennetto Community Centre Monday.

The man, who recently stayed at the Salvation Army's Booth Centre in Hamilton, was brought into isolation after testing positive. The Salvation Army's area director of public relations, Dan Millar, says the man spent one night at Booth Centre and was not displaying symptoms at the time of his stay.

In surrounding regions, Brant/Brantford have 11 cases, Halton has 36 including 10 in Burlington, Haldimand-Norfolk has 23 including one death, and Six Nations has two cases.