Lambton records 100 new cases Christmas Eve

It appears the predictions of Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Table are on target.

The group which advises the province on the science behind pandemic predicted last week that, Ontario would have over 10,000 cases of COVID-19 – driven by the new highly-transmissible Omicron variant – by the end of the year.

Today, the provincial government reports 9,571 confirmed cases of the virus across Ontario. Six deaths have been reported from COVID-19.

In Lambton, 100 new cases have been reported this Christmas Eve with 286 ill at this point with the virus.

The bright light in today’s numbers is the number of people seriously ill. The provincial government reports 161 people in the intensive care units of the province even with mounting cases.

Officials say there is a lag time between when people first get the virus and the time we see the most seriously ill needing hospitalization, but for now, officials at Bluewater Health say the COVID-19 caseload is managable.

There are 17 people in Sarnia’s hospital with COVID-19. Chief of Staff, Dr. Michael Haddad says the ICU is at capacity with half the people in the unit there because of COVID-19.