Canada Has Had A Bunch Of Superspreader Hot Spots & They Resulted In Thousands Of Cases

The country is still dealing with the effects of the pandemic. Recognizing the source of outbreaks has become essential. There have been a number of COVID-19 hot spots in Canada, and they have resulted in thousands of cases across the country. 

From the west coast all the way out to the Maritimes, almost every province has had to deal with locations and superspreader events that caused a high number of cases. 

The majority of these occurred early on in the pandemic, but they are a reminder of how severe the consequences can be if public health rules are not followed.

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Where have there been hot spots?

According to data put together by professors and Ph.D. students at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in the U.K., there were at least 25 superspreader events and hotspots across Canada.*

British Columbia had its largest one at Mission Institution, a federal prison, where there was an outbreak among inmates and staff.

Alberta had one of the country's worst hot spots at a meatpacking plant, as well as others at an oil field and a group prayer session in a private home.

The province with the highest number of events by far is Ontario, where the majority of outbreaks occurred in long-term care homes. However, a wedding in Toronto and a nail salon in Kingston also became sites for multiple cases.

Care homes in both Quebec and Nova Scotia were hit hard as well, while a Newfoundland funeral was identified as a superspreader.

How many cases came from these events?

There were 132 confirmed cases resulting from the outbreak at the Mission Institution.

The meatpacking plant in High River, Alberta saw 950 cases, making it the country's largest hotspot by a wide margin. The oil field and group prayer outbreaks resulted in 100 and 34, respectively.

The virus spreading through care homes in Ontario resulted in at least 1,188 people getting the virus. The Toronto wedding and Kingston nail salon were responsible for 23 and nine, respectively.

A nursing home in Mount Royal, Quebec became a severe hot spot with 374 cases. Every single resident living there tested positive for the virus, according to CBC News.

In the country's eastern provinces, a Halifax care home was the site of over 300 people testing positive, while the superspreader funeral in Newfoundland resulted in 143.

What was the most recent superspreader event?

While public health authorities have gotten the message out about the importance of social distancing, there were still superspreader events long after the worst of the pandemic in March.

According to the data, the most recent one on record is the wedding that took place in Ontario over the days of August 28 and 29. 

The event took place across four separate locations in Toronto, Markham, and Whitchurch-Stouffville. York Region Public Health stated that anyone who attended was at a high risk of exposure.

Prior to that, the outbreak at a nail salon in Kingston was confirmed in June.

*This article has been updated.