For Municipal Partners

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Municipal Partners

February 2, 2021

To ensure everyone has current information, Hastings Prince Edward Public Health will be providing regular COVID-19 updates.

For more information please review our website or call 613-966-5500 or 1-800-267-2803.

Updates

Epidemiological

• Hastings and Prince Edward Counties have 367 cumulative lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 2 active, 360 resolved and 5 deceased. There were 0 new cases reported today.
  • There is 1 local long-term care facility experiencing COVID-19 outbreak; additional outbreak details can be found online.
  • More information is available on our website hpePublicHealth.ca
• Vaccines administered to date:  1,096
• Ontario is reporting 1,969 cases of COVID-19 and 36 deaths as more than 30,400 tests have been completed. There are 886 new cases in Toronto, 330 in Peel, and 128 in York Region.
• In Canada, as at February 1, 2021, there are 783,589 total cases of COVID-19 with 51,745 active cases and 711,708 recovered. To date, there have been 20,136 COVID-19 related deaths and more than 21,620,353 individuals tested.

Summary of cases of COVID-19: Ontario, January 15, 2020 to February 1, 2021

Summary of Cases in Ontario Schools - Updated February2, 2021.

Local Updates

• Quinte West:
  • At its meeting yesterday, Quinte West council extended the waiving of parking fees for the duration of provincial lockdown.
  • Residents are invited to share their experiences with mental health, addictions and affordable housing. This information will help the City address these priority issues in the municipality’s new Community Safety & Well-Being (CSWB) Plan.
• Tyendinaga Mohawk Council (TMC) and the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte (MBQ) Administration shared the following support measures to help those negatively impacted by the pandemic:
  • MBQ mortgage holders can request a deferral for January, February and March 2021's mortgage payments.
  • The Emergency Loan Policy was updated in the Spring of 2020 to make accessing easier and available to anyone impacted by the pandemic.
• The City of Belleville continues to take measures to ease the impact of COVID-19 on residents and businesses. During their Jan. 25 meeting, Belleville City Council approved the deferral of the first two 2021 tax instalment payment dates, effectively adding one month to each due date. The first interim instalment due date originally scheduled for February 24 is now due March 29

Provincial

Decrease in Cases, Outbreaks and the Continuing Emergence of Variants:

• On February 1, Dr. Yaffe noted “we have been seeing a steady decrease in the number of cases” as the province's COVID-19 numbers have been going down from their peak in January (e.g. from under 15,000 cases January 8 - 11, just above 12,000 January 15 - 18 and 9,396 January 22 - 25.
• Ontario’s seven-day average is currently at 1,889, down from 2,371 last week. The number of new cases of people infected with COVID-19 is reported as being 1,969, which includes an overestimate of 300 cases as a result of Toronto Public Health's migration to the provincial data system, CCM. The positivity rate from yesterday is about 3.7 percent.
• Dr. Yaffe noted 21 new outbreaks were reported today, down from 28 on Monday; the seven-day count for outbreaks has gone down by 35 over the last week.
• Dr. Yaffe said these declines are “reasons for some optimism," as it seems that public health measures and the stay at home order are having an impact.
• Although the province’s COVID-19 cases are declining, the new variants of concerns may become the predominant strains.
• Ontario has recorded its first case of the South African strain of COVID-19 in a Peel region resident. Dr. Williams says the individual has no known travel history, and no known contact with anyone who has travelled. The case is still under investigation. Dr. Williams cautioned “while it is the first reported case, it might not be the last.”

Ontario Making Additional Investments to Keep Students and Staff Safe:

• As more students return to class today, the provincial government is providing an additional $381M provided through the federal Safe Return to Class Fund, to keep schools safe from COVID-19. Although transmission in schools has been low, this funding will be used improve air quality and ventilation in schools, support online learning, promote student mental health and hire additional staff. With this new funding, schools will have been provided with more than $1.6B to better protect students, staff, and families.
• To support their safe return, and on the best advice of experts, Ontario is introducing additional measures to further protect students and staff, including:
  • Provincewide access to targeted asymptomatic testing for students and staff, using a combination of lab-processed PCR and rapid antigen tests;
  • Mandatory masking for students in Grades 1-3, including outdoors where physical distancing cannot be maintained;
  • Enhanced screening of secondary students and staff;
  • New guidance discouraging students from congregating before and after; and
  • Temporary certification of eligible teacher candidates who are set to graduate in 2021 to stabilize staffing levels, following high levels of absenteeism.
• Targeted asymptomatic testing has helped to identify cases early, inform public health action, and manage outbreaks. Expanding access to targeted asymptomatic testing will be a valuable tool for local public health units and schools. To support the expansion of targeted asymptomatic testing, the Ministry of Education has procured test collection capacity for up to 50,000 tests per week, to be deployed at the discretion of local public health units in collaboration with schools.
• Minister Lecce was asked if March Break will be cancelled. He said the government will seek advice from the Chief Medical Officer of Health and will provide sufficient notice to parents on final decision.

Ontario Launches Six-Point Plan to Target COVID-19 Variants of Concern:

Ontario's six-point variant action plan enhances the existing coordinated and ongoing efforts of the province to detect, track, trace, and contain the spread of COVID-19. The plan includes:

• Mandatory Testing of Travelers: To address the risks associated with variants of concern to the health of Ontarians, the Chief Medical Officer of Health is issuing a Section 22 order under Section 77.1 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act, mandating on-arrival testing for international travellers at Toronto Pearson International Airport effective at 12:01 p.m. on February 1, 2021 and exploring additional testing measures at Pearson International Airport and land border crossings in the coming weeks. Any incoming international passenger refusing a mandatory test upon landing at Pearson will face a ticket starting at $750.
• Enhanced Screening and Sequencing: Led by Public Health Ontario, the provincial diagnostic lab network is ramping up capacity to screen all positive COVID-19 tests in Ontario for known variants within two to three days of initial processing. This new measure will take effect as of February 3, 2021. Public Health Ontario (PHO) will also undertake and coordinate genomic sequencing efforts to identify new and emerging variants by sequencing up to 10 percent of all positive tests by February 17, 2021.
• Maintain Public Health Measures: Given the emerging evidence that the variants of concern are more transmissible and may cause more severe disease in some individuals, lifting of public health and workplace safety measures will not be considered at this time until more information on variant spread is known and overall trends in public health indicators improve. The declared provincial emergency and stay-at-home order were recently extended until February 9, 2021.
• Strengthen Case and Contact Management: The provincial workforce will continue supporting public health units to ensure cases and contacts are reached as soon as possible and monitored through their quarantine period. All asymptomatic contacts will be asked to repeat testing on or after day 10 of their quarantine, and the entire household of all contacts and symptomatic individuals will be asked to stay home until the contact has a negative test.
• Enhancing Protections for Vulnerable Populations: Dependent on supply from the federal government, the province will continue with the accelerated vaccination of residents in long-term care, high-risk retirement, and First Nations elder care homes. The province is also introducing a provincial antigen screening program for the expansion of rapid testing in high priority settings, such as long-term care homes, retirement homes, essential workplaces, schools, and congregate living settings.
• Leveraging Data: The province will work with a made-in-Ontario technology company DNAstack to immediately establish a genomics databank and real-time analytics dashboard to empower the province's public health officials and improve the government's planning related to pandemic response. This will enhance the province's capacity to identify known and emerging variants of COVID-19.

Federal

New Support to Produce COVID-19 Vaccines in Canada:

• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Novavax to pursue the production of its COVID-19 vaccine at the National Research Council of Canada’s Biologics Manufacturing Centre in Montréal. Canada has an agreement with Novavax to purchase up to 76M doses of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
• Prime Minister Trudeau also announced investments to support vaccine, therapeutic, and biomanufacturing projects in Canada. These include:
  • Up to $25.1M to Precision NanoSystems Incorporated, a Vancouver-based biotechnology company, to expand our ability to produce ribonucleic acid vaccines and future genetic medicines in Canada.
  • Up to $14M to Edesa Biotech Inc., a biopharmaceutical company based in Markham, Ontario, to advance work on a monoclonal antibody therapy for acute respiratory distress syndrome, which is the leading cause of COVID-19 deaths.

Government of Canada Supports Projects to Encourage Vaccine Uptake:

• On Ferbuary 2, Federal Minister of Health announced an investment of more than $64M through the Immunization Partnership Fund (IPF) to help partners across the country in Canada increase COVID-19 vaccination uptake.
• This includes $30.25M for community-led projects to increase vaccine confidence by addressing gaps in knowledge, attitudes and beliefs related to vaccination. This funding will be used to develop tailored, targeted tools and educational resources to raise awareness of, and confidence in, the COVID-19 vaccines. These funds will also support the efforts of community members and leaders to increase vaccine confidence and address barriers to access and acceptance within their communities.
• The government continues to work with Indigenous leaders, experts, advisors, manufacturers and healthcare partners to allocate, distribute and administer safe and effective vaccines as quickly as possible for all who choose to be vaccinated, in an efficient and equitable manner.

International Travel, Testing and Border Measures:

• Prime Minister Trudeau announced a series of measures at the border to stop the importation of COVID-19 and any variants of concerns that includes requiring:
  • All international flights land at one of four airports: Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Montreal.
  • Passengers take a COVID-19 test upon arrival and quarantine in a designated hotel for three days at their own expense to the tune of approx. $2,000 while awaiting results. If results come back negative, travellers finish the remainder of the 14 days at home.
• Dr. Tam cautioned the hotel quarantine will “not just [be] your regular stay at a hotel,” as the government must put in place security and infection prevention and control measures.
• Prime Minister Trudeau announced the government has contracted "private security firms" to help with enhanced quarantine surveillance. Dr. Tam indicated these security contractors will start knocking doors in Toronto and Montreal starting this week and then expand out across 35 cities.

AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine:

• Health Canada released a statement on the European Medicines Agency's approval of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and suggested that Canada may make its independent regulatory decision "in the coming days." Canada has already signed agreements to secure up to 20 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

One-Week Waiting Period for Employment Insurance Claims Temporarily Waived:

• In response to the increase in people needing support, the federal government announced Employment Insurance (EI) regulations will be amended to temporarily waive the waiting period for EI claimants who establish a new claim between January 31, 2021 and September 25, 2021. This includes claimants of regular, fishing and special benefits.
• This temporary change will allow people who are applying for benefits to be paid for their first week of unemployment. It will also help ease their heightened financial stress at a time of great uncertainty.

Other News

• PHO Webinar Alert: COVID–19 Mass Immunization Drive-Through: A Pilot
  • To meet community immunization needs, a flexible hybrid model for vaccine administration has been proposed by York Region Public Health. Addressing the timeliness, efficiency and safety of York Region residents, this model is comprised of: multiple fixed clinic sites varying in size, drive-through clinics, and mobile clinics, coupled with an “outreach immunization program” for congregate settings.
    • When: Thursday, February 11, 2021 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
• Schools and Daycares: The National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools at McMaster University released a living rapid review looking at the specific role of schools and daycares in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
• Lessons Learned from Israel’s Vaccine Rollout: Ontario's COVID-19 Science Advisory Table has released a new report which outlines six key elements of Israel’s successful COVID-19 vaccine campaign that can be readily applied to Ontario to expedite and expand the province’s vaccine rollout strategy.
• COMOH Supports In-Class Learning: The Council of Ontario Medical Officers of Health (COMOH) issued a statement supporting in-class learning. COMOH, a section of Association of Local Public Health Agencies (alPHA), represents all local Medical Officers of Health in ON, & made this independent assessment based on local and international data.
• Inspection Blitz: Provincial offences officers have visited 1,147 big-box stores and other essential retail businesses so far and the most common reasons cited for non-compliance were failure to properly screen staff and patrons, improper social distancing and workplaces not having adequate COVID-19 workplace safety plans.

Useful Links

• HPEPH COVID-19 General Information
• HPEPH COVID-19 Information for Health Care Providers
• How Ontario is responding to COVID-19
• Public Health Ontario Coronavirus Disease
• Canada Coronavirus disease

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

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