by Victoria Gray
writIs
COVID-19 cases in the Six Nations have continued to rise over the past week, but there are signs of relief and vaccination rates increasing in the region.
There were 94 active cases in the area till January 16. 292 people are in self-isolation, who either have symptoms or were in contact with a positive case. 132 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last seven days, but six of them were positive on January 15th and 16. but no oneth, No one reported testing positive in the two days where nine were in the last four days.
The hospital currently has seven community members and the death toll has risen to 18 after the loss of three community members, one of whom was a resident of an Iroquois lodge. Six Nations Elected Council and Six Nations Health did not respond to requests for comment. Lodge outbreak that affected 30 residents.
Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, there have been 1,309 cases of COVID-19 in six countries and 1,120 cases per 100,000.
The vaccination rate of 55 percent people has increased to 50 percent with two doses and one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The positivity rate on the Six Nations, still testing the entire population, is seeing a positivity rate of 76 percent of those tested. The positivity rate across Canada stands at 21.1 percent and was 24.2 percent in Ontario on January 16, although because the province is no longer testing the general population, the number could be much higher. Despite this, 7,086 new cases were reported in the province, of which 5,400 people were fully vaccinated.
“Due to changes in test availability, driven by an increase in COVID-19 cases related to the Omicron version, the number of cases in this report underestimates the true number of individuals with COVID-19 in Ontario. As such, the data must be interpreted with caution,” Health Ontario’s daily epidemiological report said.
The province reported 4,183 people in hospital and 580 in ICU with COVID-19. This is an increase of about 300 people from Monday.
On 17 January the Brent Community Health System (BCHS) which includes Brentford General Hospital and the Villette Urgent Care Center in Paris reported 81 COVID patients in the hospital, five of whom were in critical care. This is up from the 71 reported in the hospital two days ago.
There are currently 513 active cases in Brantford, with 62 reported in the last 24 hours.
Haldimand-Norfolk has 1051 active cases and three more deaths, taking the death toll to 61. The hospital has six residents and one in the ICU. The county has registered 5,107 cases since the start of the pandemic.
Hamilton recorded 10,000 active cases on 18 January with 356 new cases. 42,587 cases have been reported since the start of the pandemic. Hamilton Health Sciences has 217 people with COVID-19 and 26 people in the ICU bringing it to 101 percent capacity. 492 employees are in self isolation.
St Joseph’s Healthcare has 93 COVID-19 patients and 15 in ICU bringing it to 91 per cent capacity. 169 staff members are self-isolating.
Hamilton Hospitals feeling distressed with COVID-19 cases and hamilton Health Sciences West End Urgent Care clinic at 690 Main Street West closed for at least eight weeks so that workers there can Help the COVID-19 efforts. 10 nurses, five doctors and other staff will go to other hospitals to help with the COVID-19 overflow.
If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, such as headache, loss of taste, cold or flu-like symptoms, book a COVID-19 test at the online assessment center at www.sixnationscovid19.ca, or call 1-855- 977-7737 or 226-446-9909.
Members of the Six Nations are strongly encouraged to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. To book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment, visit www.sixnationscovid19.ca, or call the Vaccine Call Center at 226-227-9288.
For anyone struggling and in need of support, the Six Nations Mobile Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 519-445-2204 or 1-866-445-2204.
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