For Municipal Partners

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Municipal Partners

April 28, 2020

To ensure everyone has current information during this quickly evolving outbreak, Hastings Prince Edward Public Health will be providing regular COVID-19 updates over the next several weeks.

For more information please review our website or call 613-966-5500.

Updates

Epidemiological

• Hastings and Prince Edward Counties have 39 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 212 probable cases, with 19 lab-confirmed cases having recovered.
  • Approximately 2,113 COVID-19 tests have been conducted, with a 2.1% positivity rate.
  • Long-term care homes Hastings Manor and Moira Place continue to be in COVID-19 outbreak.
  • More details are available on our website hpePublicHealth.ca.

• In Canada, there are 49,014 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 resulting in 2,766 deaths. To date, over 740,859 individuals have been tested.

Summary of cases of COVID-19: Ontario, January 15, 2020 to April 27, 2020

Note: 141 cases did not specify male or female. Seven cases had an unknown age.

• There are 15,381 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario reported to date in iPHIS. This represents an increase of 525 confirmed cases from the previous report.
  • 41.6% of cases are male, 57.5% are female.
  • 44.6% of cases are 60 years of age and older.
  • Greater Toronto Area public health units account for 59.4% of cases.
  • 11.3% of cases were hospitalized.
• 951 deaths have been reported (please note there may be a reporting delay for deaths in iPHIS). This is an increase of 59 deaths from the previous report.
• 176 outbreaks have been reported in long-term care homes. This is an increase of 6 outbreaks from the previous report.
• 476 deaths have been reported among residents/patients in long-term care homes. This is a change of 21 deaths from the previous report.

Federal

• Parliament will have its first virtual sitting today and an in-person sitting on Wednesday.

Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy Program (CEWS)

• Applications opened yesterday for this $73 B wage subsidy program which covers up to 75 percent of wages for businesses and non-profit organizations to encourage employers not to lay off their employees.
• The first payments should begin to arrive by May 7.
• Nobody can apply for both the CEWS and Canadian Emergency Relief Benefit , it's one or the other, otherwise they will have to repay the federal government.
• There have already been 300,000 views of the online calculator over the weekend and more than 10,000 had already applied within the first three hours of the program opening.

Re-opening of Provincial Economies

• Prime Minister Trudeau stated that he is working with the provinces and territories to support them as they gradually re-open their economies, but will keep asking Canadians to follow public health recommendations, no matter where they live.
• The federal government will provide any needed supports to Ontario and other provinces as they consider re-opening their economies and collaborate from coast to coast on shared guidelines for re-opening the economy. These guidelines would cover issues such as ensuring:
  • adequate medical capacity to handle a potential surge of illness.
  • sufficient testing and plans to do more testing as needed.
  • customized guidelines are in place for specific sectors/industries that are appropriate to keep people safe.

Provincial

Yesterday, the Ontario government released A Framework for Reopening our Province, which outlines the criteria Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health and health experts will use to advise the government on loosening of emergency measures, as well as guiding principles for the safe, gradual reopening of businesses, services and public spaces. While clarifying that "this is a roadmap, not a calendar," Premier Doug Ford unveiled the guiding principles to reopen the province. Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Williams, stressed that with over 400 cases a day, the province in still in the pandemic phase and "we have a ways to go."

Reopening Businesses and Public Spaces

• Premier Ford emphasized that there is no hard date for reopening the province, rather it will be gradual and occur in stages.
• Each stage will last at least two to four weeks.
• At every point, Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health will be able to tighten certain restrictions, extend the stage or advise that the province can move into the next phase.
• Everyday actions to protect people's health, like physical distancing, frequent hand washing and staying home when ill, will continue through each stage.

• Stage 1 - In the first stage, Ontario will consider:
  • opening select workplaces that can meet current public health guidelines.
  • allowing essential gatherings of a limited number of people.
  • opening some outdoor spaces.
  • continued protections for vulnerable populations.
  • offering of some non-urgent and scheduled surgeries, and other health care services by hospitals.
• Stage 2 - In the second stage, Ontario will consider:
  • opening more workplaces with significant mitigation plans.
  • opening more public spaces.
  • allowing some larger public gatherings.
  • continued protections for vulnerable populations.
• Stage 3 - In the final stage, Ontario will consider:
  • opening all workplaces responsibly.
  • relaxing restrictions on public gatherings.
  • continued protections for vulnerable populations.
  • even in this phase, large gatherings, such as concerts and sporting events, will continue to be restricted for the foreseeable future.

Considerations for Each Stage

The Chief Medical Officer of Health and health experts will advise the government on when it may begin to ease public health measures using a range of criteria, including:

• Virus spread and containment: a consistent two-to-four week decrease in the number of new daily COVID‑19 cases.
• Health system capacity: sufficient acute and critical care capacity, including access to ventilators and ongoing availability of personal protective equipment.
• Public health system capacity: approximately 90% of new COVID‑19 contacts are being reached by local public health officials within one day, with guidance and direction to contain community spread.
• Incidence tracking capacity: ongoing testing of suspected COVID‑19 cases, especially of vulnerable populations, to detect new outbreaks quickly.

Consultations on Recovery Plans

• Finance Minister Phillips cautioned that, "turning on an economy after an unprecedented shut-down is not as simple as flipping a switch. We need to plan this out carefully to ensure we do not spark a sudden outbreak, undo the progress we have made and put the safety of the public at risk."
• The Ontario Jobs and Recovery Committee, as well as MPPs, will be consulting with people and businesses across all sectors to help better understand the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and develop a recovery action plan for Ontario.
• These consultations will be held with a range of stakeholders from corporate and municipal leaders, business associations, Franco-Ontarians, Indigenous partners, community and social service providers, the not-for-profit sector to colleges and universities.

Local

• A number of upcoming City of Quinte West committee meetings will be held electronically. To ensure the health and safety of the public, and in accordance with provincial restrictions on gatherings of more than five individuals, City Hall will not be open for committee meetings. Committee members will be participating remotely and will not be physically present.

• Quinte Waste Solutions is suspending their Electronic Waste (E-Waste) program at the Material Recovery Facility located at 270 West Street, Trenton. This program will remain closed until further notice. Electronic waste recycling and all May mobile events have also been cancelled.

• Belleville Transit issues with the booking app through Google SDK have been resolved. The on-demand booking app is back to full operation.

• The City of Belleville continues their social media campaign encouraging local residents to shop local and support area businesses.

Public Health

• Dr. Ethan Toumishey will be hosting the Facebook live COVID-19 update at 1 pm this Thursday, April 30. Tune in on our facebook page to participate or watch the broadcast live on Cogeco's YourTV station. Even if you are not able to watch live, the video remains available for viewing on Facebook after the live broadcast has been completed.

We want to ensure this bulletin is as useful as possible. Please send your questions, comments and suggestions to klarose@hpeph.ca

Contact Information: 

To give us your comments: klarose@hpeph.ca

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