COVID-19 cases touch slightly higher than last summer

Local pharmacist Tim Brady is well aware COVID-19 is still a thing.

“We have to know it's still here,” Brady told CTV News Monday after his wife and daughter caught COVID during a recent vacation. “New strains and new variants coming out of it all the time so it's constantly changing so we just got to keep an eye on it and be diligent.

This summer, Windsor Regional Hospital has averaged about five patients a day with COVID.

“We have seen it climb up to about 13 patients today, but there's still numbers very low compared to, say, January of last year,” said Erika Vitale, the hospital’s Infectious Prevention and Control Manager who points out cases tend to pick up towards the end of the summer. “In august last year, we had a 12 per cent positivity rate for COVID, so meaning out of everybody that got tested, 12 per cent were positive. This year, right now we're seeing about 13 per cent positivity.”

Provincially at this time last year, Vitale said Ontario had about 71 COVID-19 outbreaks, and this year the province has seen 75.

“We currently have two Covid-19 outbreaks and none at the hospital, just in long term care rest homes,” said Vitale.

While some cases may be severe, the majority have been mild, according to Vitale who anticipates an increase moving into the fall, “We did start to pick up in in September and October. [It was] more of a slow increase, and then we peaked in around November- December, and then right after that, the flu really peaked and that's a very rapid increase and a decrease quickly as well.”

Officials feel now is a good time to start talking to medical professionals and pharmacists about vaccine shots this fall. Brady said a new COVID vaccine is expected in the coming weeks.

“You get the vaccination, it lessens your chance of getting it. Could you still get it? Yes, you can. It's not 100 per cent, but usually if you do, it's a lot less severe and you're usually healthier a lot quicker,” said Brady.