More records broken as Durham reports 316 new cases – 63 from Pickering and Oshawa

It’s no longer a surprise to learn the Omicron variant is trashing infection records by the day but there are a few underlying concerns with yesterday’s total of 306 new cases.

• Two of the new cases are in hospital, bringing the total to five, with three in ICU
• Mild symptoms or not, the super-fast growth of active cases of Omicron will soon be putting a strain on local hospitals and health care resources
• Outbreaks at long term care homes have doubled to four, though only four Durham residents (and an unknown number of non-Durham residents at Harmony Hills Retirement Residence) are self-isolating
• Workplace outbreaks remain high, with nine currently on the books

The sheer volume of the new cases is alarming, with 63 in Pickering and Oshawa Wednesday, 57 in Ajax and 53 in Clarington and Whitby. The northern communities reported their share as well, with seven in Scugog, four in Uxbridge and three in Brock, bringing the grand total of active cases to 1,650.

That’s a lot of cases to deal with.

There are 19 school outbreaks, with 16 students listed as affected, though that doesn’t count outbreaks at three schools where the students are not from Durham Region. There are also outbreaks at Cedarcroft Place, Chartwell Wynfield, Harmony Hills and Port Perry Place retirement homes.

Ontario-wide, the Province set a record today (surprise!) with 5,790 cases, a seven-day average of more than 4,000 per day. Even that number pales when compared with Quebec, which reported more than 9,000 positive tests in today’s reporting.