Here's the breakdown of COVID-19 numbers in Waterloo region since March

It's been a year filled with change and challenges for both public health officials and members of the community in Waterloo region.

But the resilient region has come a long way since the first case of COVID-19 reported March 5, 2020, with vaccinations well underway in the area.

Here's a look at where the region is at as it heads into the new year in its second lockdown since March.

All numbers recorded as of Thursday and reflected on the region's COVID-19 dashboard.

Cases

There are currently 518 active COVID-19 cases in the region.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 5,899 cases.

Forty per cent of them were due to close-contact transmission, 29 per cent was from community spread and 26 per cent was linked to outbreaks. The source of transmission for some cases remains under investigation.

Ten per cent of cases were in health care workers.

Nearly half of all cases were in people under 39-years-old. Those over 50 made up 22 per cent of cases.

The region's testing partners conducted a total of 270,123 tests.

Hospitalizations and deaths

There are currently 33 people in hospital with 12 of them in the intensive care unit.

At least 378 people have been hospitalized from the infection since March. Ninety-seven of them were in the intensive care unit.

The infection has claimed the lives of 165 people in the region, with 111 deaths linked to long-term care facilities.

Outbreaks

There are currently 36 outbreaks in the region.

Of the total cases since March, 1,532 were linked to outbreaks.

There have been outbreaks across 21 schools in the region, as well as Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo.

There have been 66 outbreaks in long-term care and retirement facilities.

Trinity Village long-term care saw an outbreak earlier this pandemic in April claim the lives of 19 people.

Between April and June, 51 people died as a result of an outbreak at Forest Heights Revera long-term care. A total of residents and 73 staff had tested positive for the virus.

Cambridge Country Manor continues to grapple with an ongoing outbreak that results in 12 deaths. Since it was declared earlier in December, 60 residents and 64 staff have tested positive.

Vaccinations

The region received its first shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine about two weeks ago, since then more than 1,000 health care workers have been vaccinated.

The clinic at Grand River Hospital increased operations to run seven days a week instead of five.

It plans to vaccinate up to 400 people a day.