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Topic: Waterloo RegionView all posts for the topic: Waterloo Region
Wastewater testing a ‘huge scientific success’ says UW prof as province terminates network
Mark Servos is going back to studying fish.
After more than four years of testing wastewater for traces of COVID-19, the University of Waterloo fisheries biologist and his team that spans 12 universities will take their last samples next week as the country’s largest wastewater network officially disbands.
The Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks has terminated the program as of July 31, removing one of the last reliable trackers of the virus’s spread in communities across Ontario.
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Province shutting down wastewater surveillance in Waterloo Region
The Region of Waterloo’s most effective tool in tracking COVID-19 and other respiratory infections is ceasing operations at the end in July.
The University of Waterloo’s provincially-funded wastewater surveillance is ending, coinciding with the Ontario government’s decision to wind down its own program.
Wastewater surveillance was first introduced in 2021.
Mark Servos, the Canada research chair in water quality protection, has been spearheading wastewater monitoring at the University of Waterloo since 2020.
“We’re monitoring hundreds of thousands of people at the same time with the same sample,” he explained to CTV News. “There’s been hundreds of variants that we’ve been able to isolate.”
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Waterloo Region senior dies of COVID-19 as flu hospitalizes a greater number of patients
A woman in her 90s has died of COVID-19, raising the pandemic toll to 12 deaths this year.
The regional public health unit reported the latest death Friday in a weekly update of indicators. The health unit counts cases where the pandemic disease is a main or contributing cause of death.
Hospitalizations are stable at a relatively low level. There are currently six patients with COVID-19 in three local hospitals on an average day. A typical day during the four-year pandemic is 26 patients hospitalized.
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UW responds to open letter calling for more robust COVID-19 measures
An open letter calling for UW to implement more robust COVID-19 measures has picked up traction, receiving an endorsement from the World Health Network as well as a response from the university.
The letter was addressed to UW senior administration by the COVID Action, Response, and Equity (CARE) Coalition, a group made up of students, faculty, staff and alumni. It has garnered about 150 signatures so far, including UW Climate Justice Ecosystem, the UW QTPOC KW, and the School of Public Health Sciences Graduate Students’ Association.
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Senior dies of COVID-19, raising death toll to 11 this year in Waterloo Region
A man in his 70s has died of COVID-19, the regional public health unit announced Friday in a weekly update.
This raises the death toll to 11 this year where the pandemic disease was a main or contributing cause.
Hospitalizations for the disease are stable and relatively low, averaging 13 patients per day on Feb. 17. This compares to a typical day in the pandemic with 27 patients in three local hospitals.
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Group of University of Waterloo students demanding improved response to COVID-19-related issues
A group of students at the University of Waterloo (UW) have penned an open letter to administration demanding the institution meet certain standards of care due to its ‘silence and inaction about the ongoing health crisis.’
Their group, called the Covid Action, Response and Equity (CARE) Coalition UW, is made up of about 10 students attending the university.
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COVID-19 outbreaks on the rise in Waterloo Region
The number of active COVID-19 outbreaks in high-risk settings increased by more than 50 per cent this past week, according to the Waterloo Region public health unit’s weekly dashboard update.
There are 15 outbreaks in high-risk settings — up from seven last week — including two in congregate settings, such as group homes or shelters, one in hospital and 12 in long-term care/retirement homes.
One new death was reported. So far this year, COVID-19 has been a direct or contributing cause in 41 deaths reported by public health in the region.
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Waterloo region’s COVID booster rate lags behind national average
The number of people in Waterloo region who have received their most recent COVID-19 booster shot is just under 11 per cent, which is below the national average.
The region’s vaccination dashboard shows 10.9 per cent of people in the community are up-to-date on their vaccinations as of Dec. 7. The region notes “up to date” means a person has completed their primary series and received a booster dose within the previous six months.
The number of people who have received the updated XBB.1.5 COVID-19 vaccine sits at 10.8 per cent, the region told CBC News in an email.
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‘The highest levels they’ve been ever’: Wastewater testing shows growing spread of COVID-19
“The levels of [COVID-19] are at the highest levels they’ve been ever […] There’s hundreds or even thousands of people that have COVID-19 right now.”
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Wastewater tests showing high levels of COVID and flu circulating in Waterloo region
When the pandemic started, the province was testing the population and updating the number of COVID cases daily.
But four years on, testing has stalled and the main way to get a snapshot of the COVID picture is through wastewater.
Continue readingWastewater tests showing high levels of COVID and flu circulating in Waterloo region
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Two seniors die of COVID-19 in Waterloo Region as hospitalizations stay relatively high
A woman in her 90s and a woman in her 70s have died of COVID-19, the regional public health unit revealed Friday in a weekly report.
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Flu and COVID-19 shots now available to all eligible people in Waterloo region, Guelph
Waterloo pharmacist Erin McClure says her phone has been ringing off the hook lately with people hoping to make appointments for their flu and COVID-19 shots.
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Hospitalizations surge to nine-month high in Waterloo Region
The latest COVID-19 wave has put more patients in local hospitals than any time in the last nine months.
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New COVID-19 wave puts 30 patients in Waterloo Region hospitals as disease surges
The latest COVID-19 wave put 30 patients in local hospitals by Wednesday, the most in five months.
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A look inside Waterloo Region’s wastewater surveillance program
You may not have heard as much about the spread of COVID-19 lately, but the threat remains.
Wastewater testing continues in Waterloo Region and over the last several weeks, it’s been picking up increased signals of the virus.
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Beyond the pandemic: Long COVID emerges as a silent crisis
Comments closed[I]t appears that, regardless of gender and other demographic factors, COVID-19 infection at baseline is correlated with increased problems with emotion regulation six months later: depression, anxiety and agitation.