New COVID-19 cases jump to 91 in Waterloo region Wednesday

Region of Waterloo Public Health reported 91 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday.

It was an increase from the 43 cases reported Tuesday and 48 reported on Monday.

That brought the total so far in May to 788 and since the start of the pandemic to 14,989. Of all the cases, 14,242 have been marked as resolved.

The number of active cases rose by 31 to 476 but the number of people in the region's hospitals dropped by two to 42 and the number of people in the intensive care unit also fell, from 34 to 31.

There were no new deaths reported Wednesday in the region.

So far, there have been2,445 cases that have screened positive for a variant or mutation of the virus. Of those:

• 2,148have been identified as the B117 variantfirst detected in the U.K.
• 17 have been identified as the P1 variantfirst detected in Brazil.
• Three have been identified as the B1351 variant first detected in South Africa.
• 277require more testing to determine the variant.

Ontario reported 2,320cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, while the number of patients with the illness requiring critical care dropped below 800 for the first time in three weeks.

17 active outbreaks

There were 17 active outbreaks with three in long-term care and retirement homes. The newest outbreak was declared at The Village of Winston Park in Kitchener where one person who works there tested positive for the virus.

There were 10 workplace outbreaks. They include:

• Two at manufacturing workplaces: One with 23 cases, one with two cases.
• Two at automobile sales and service businesses, both with six cases.
• Two at retail stores: One with six cases, one with three cases.
• One at a food processor with 31 cases.
• One at Waterloo Regional Police Service with six cases.
• One at a warehouse with six cases.
• One at a medical office with five cases.

The other outbreaks include:

• One at Coronation Early Learning Child Care with four cases.
• One at a congregate setting with a single case.
• One at St. Mary's General Hospital. The number of cases was not released.
• One at Conestoga College with three cases.