Falling COVID cases helps ease pressure on Brampton Civic Hospital

Brampton COVID-19 cases continue to fall as vaccination rates continue to rise.

That was the upbeat message at Mayor Patrick Brown’s weekly news conference broadcast on the City’s Facebook page Wednesday morning.

“I want to start off today by talking about vaccine progress,” said Brown. “It is so encouraging to see record number after record number of individuals get their vaccines.”

Brown said getting vaccines is the pathway to get society back to normal and pointed out the strong correlation between vaccination rates and the reduced pressure on the health care system.

“We continue to see a significant improvement in our hospitals. As you know, Brampton Civic Hospital (BCH)was the busiest hospital in the country when it came to COVID-19 pressure. They had more COVID-19 patients at one point than the COVID hospitals.”

The picture is much more positive now. Yesterday, Peel Public Health reported 19 new cases in Brampton, one of the lowest numbers since the pandemic began. Brown said there are 18 COVID-19 patients at BCH, including four in ICU.

“I’d also like to congratulate Dr. (Lawrence) Loh, (Peel Medical Officer of Health) and his team for surpassing 75 per cent first-dose coverage. That was an ambitious target.”

Brown said when Loh set that 75 per cent goal, there were concerns about vaccine hesitancy and potential systemic barriers.

“But with the surgical approach Peel Public Health has taken, we surpassed our goal and continue to see success in getting vaccinations into arms.”

Everyone continues to keep an eye on the rising incidence of COVID variants, “But I’m grateful that the Province has announced the Delta variant hotspot strategy. I really believe that will help us.