The President of Niagara Health is asking local residents to follow public health advice as we head into the Easter weekend.
Lynn Guerriero says they are currently caring for 10 patients with COVID-19 at the St. Catharines hospital , including eight under the age of 65.
Three patients are in the Intensive Care Unit.
She says as community cases continue to climb, with 611 active cases reported in Niagara today, they know from experience that activity in the hospital is two to three weeks behind activity in the community.
“As we head into the long weekend, it’s important we remain vigilant with public health measures, including masking, physical distancing and hand washing, to slow the spread of COVID-19. COVID-19 variants of concern are circulating in Niagara and impacting younger populations. Intensive Care Units in Ontario are seeing younger patients with more severe cases of COVID-19. Today, Critical Care Services Ontario reported the highest number of patients in the ICUs – 430 – since the pandemic began. "
Niagara reported over 100 new infections today alone.
An Ontario-wide shutdown goes into effect Saturday at 12:01 a.m.