Officials urged patience and cooperation from Waterloo Region residents as they have to wait a bit longer to move into Step 2 of provincial reopening.
"We are back in full pandemic mode," said Lee Fairclough, president of St. Mary's General Hospital. "At the beginning of June, we were as low as four patients in St. Mary's Hospital, today, we're at 18. I know this is equally the case at Grand River Hospital."
She elaborated the situation with an example.
"To provide a perspective from the hospitals, yesterday, we reported 65 new positive cases in the three Waterloo region hospitals," Fairclough said. "Yesterday, 23 per cent of patients admitted for COVID in Ontario were in our three hospitals. That's striking, considering we represent four per cent of the population in Ontario."
She and Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, the region's medical officer of health, asserted that getting vaccinated is the best defence against the rising cases, of which a majority are presumed to be of the Delta variant.
"Over 76 per cent of confirmed cases sin May 1, we were among unvaccinated individuals," Wang said. "Approximately 22 per cent were partially vaccinated but not fully protected. And 1.6 per cent were fully vaccinated.
"The majority (77.8 per cent) of hospitalized cases since May 1, in Waterloo Region, were among individuals who were unvaccinated," she added. "And 20.6 per cent were vaccinated but not yet fully protected and 1.6 per cent were fully vaccinated.
"And 87.5 per cent of reported deaths since May 1 were in individuals who were not yet vaccinated or not yet protected from their vaccination," Wang concluded.
Delta, she said, is spreading rapidly, mostly among the younger population, those younger than 18, and aged between 20 to 29 and 30 to 39.
"Moving to Step 2 requires achieving vaccine milestones, reduced pressure on our hospitals," said Wang. "With the Delta variant, we know the first dose improves protection against infection, but the strongest protection is for those that are fully immunized."
She explained that where there wasn't a concrete number indicating what percentage of total COVID cases since May were those with the Delta variant the declaration of the region as a hotspot was based on proxy indicators.
"Other variants, such as Alpha and Beta that were previously circulating are only occasionally seen," Wang said. "The vast majority of cases that are not able to be screened as a variant is considered by Public Health Ontario to be the Delta variant. That's the predominant type we're getting now, which is where you do not detect the presence of a variant.
"I know it sounds confusing because you can't screen for it as a variant," she added, "but it's (because) of these indirect indicators we can assume that it's mainly Delta that is spreading through our community."
And the spread, Wang said, is happening mainly through close contact.
"What we're seeing with our case in contact and since May is mostly close contact without distancing, masking, and social gatherings that weren't recommended," she noted. "With Delta, it can take off. These are all cases brought in from some form of travel that have spread through close contact and gatherings."
A recent announcement indicated the changes to vaccination rollout in the region.
Vickie Murray, operations lead for the vaccine distribution task force, said the region's first-dose immunization rate is now just above 75 per cent for eligible adults.
"We're now turning our attention initiatives that will make it easier for the remaining 25 per cent to get vaccinated," she said. "We want to make our mobile teams more mobile. We hope to have some sort of vaccine bus in action over the summer. Many people who are not vaccine hesitant will gladly get vaccinated if we take it to them."
But it remains unclear how the region will ensure people, even those that have received a single dose only, will comply with public health requirements of social distancing, limiting travel and gatherings.
"There is no way we can limit people," said Karen Redman, chair of the Region of Waterloo, answering a question about what can be done about those getting restless since the region is not moving into Step 2 of reopening. "They have the right to move about. We've always approached the vaccine rollout with an 80-20 rule, in that 80 per cent will comply and there will always be a small group of people that will not follow the rules.
Wang said she's always concerned about behaviour over long weekends and holidays.
"I really hope people understand that people that are infected are those you care about," she added.
As for businesses being unclear on whether to reopen with the rest of the province, Wang said, as the public health officer, she can invoke a section under the Reopening Act that allows her to instruct businesses to continue conducting business in Step 1, until a move into Step 2 is announced.
She said all residents are advised to limit non-essential travel outside of Waterloo Region and limit all close contact to only household members or one other household exclusively for those living alone.
"Get vaccinated as soon as you can and continue to practice public health measures, including physical distancing and staying at home if you have any symptoms," she said.