11 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,A ugust 5,2021 insidehalton.com The substantial increase in vaccination rates through spring and into summer has helped reduce the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations across Halton. But with the reopening of the economy and with more COVID-19 restrictions be- ing lifted, Dr. Hamidah Meghani, the re- gion's medical officer of health, warned that there would likely be an increase in cases -- with those unvaccinated having a much higher chance to get severely ill. "While our current vaccination rates are a good start, they are not sufficient to protect us against a potential fourth wave of the pandemic," she said in a video posted on the agency's YouTube channel. "Now is the time to double down on our efforts." She said the region's goal is to fully vac- cinate 90 percent of the community to re- duce the chances of a surge in the upcom- ing months, especially with the more transmissible delta variant becoming more dominant across the province. So far, 82 per cent of Halton residents have received the first dose -- with 67 per cent fully vaccinated. As for the weekly COVID-19 cases, the region's website shows that from July 23 to July 28 there were 41 new cases. Another death was reported in Burlington. As of July 29, the number of active CO- VID-19 cases stood at 49 -- with 20 cases in Milton, 18 in Burlington, nine in Oakville, and two in Halton Hills. There have been 18,182 cases of COVID-19 during the pan- demic, with 17,896 marked as resolved and 237 deaths. Here's a weekly roundup of COVID-19 cases and news. Metroland file photo WEEKLY ROUNDUP: HALTON SETS NEW VACCINATION GOAL BAMBANG SADEWO bsadewo@metroland.com NEWS SCAN FOR MORE Scan this code to view covid cases tracker.