For Municipal Partners

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Municipal Partners

May 29, 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 43 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 182 probable cases, with 32 lab-confirmed cases having recovered and 5 deceased.
    • Approximately 7,252 COVID-19 tests have been conducted, with a 0.6% positivity rate.
    • Facilities experiencing COVID-19 outbreak can be found online.
    • More details are available on our website.
  • In Canada, there are 88,845 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 resulting in 6,918 deaths. To date, over 1,593,453 individuals have been tested.

Summary of cases of COVID-19: Ontario, January 15, 2020 to May 28, 2020

  Number Percentage
Number of cases 27,210      N/A
Change from previous report (new cases) 344 1.3 increase
Resolved 20,983 77.1
Subset of all cases that are reported to be long-term care residents 4,989 18.3
Subset of all cases that are reported as a health care worker associated with long-term care outbreaks 1,775 6.5
Total number of deaths 2,230 8.2
Deaths reported for residents in long-term care homes 1,412 63.3
Deaths reported for health care workers in long-term care homes

Demographics

  Number        Percentage
Male 11,818 43.4
Female 15,162 55.7
19 and under        948 3.5
20-39 6,992 25.7
40-59 8,310 30.5
60-79 5,551 19.8
80 and over 5,394 19.8

 

Testing

  Number
Total tests completed 680,687
Total tests completed in the previous day         18,525
Currently under investigation 13,351

 

Federal

Canada Co-Hosts Global Conference on COVID-19 Economic Recovery

  • Yesterday, Prime Minister Trudeau co-hosted a virtual conference with the Prime Minister of Jamaica and the Secretary-General of the United Nations to develop a coordinated response for global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The event brought together some 50 heads of state, private sector leaders and representatives from the International Monetary Fund to discuss areas where urgent action is needed.
  • The Prime Minster stressed that "for the global economy to recover, and for our domestic economies to bounce back, we need a global, coordinated plan." He noted that "our citizens need to have confidence in international institutions that leave no one behind and are capable of overcoming global challenges."

Masks and Hot Weather

  • Canada's Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Tam cautioned Canadians who are experiencing heat and humidity that wearing a mask outside can make breathing difficult, so it's important to maintain one's physical distance from others. Dr. Tam called for the use of masks indoors when physical distancing cannot be maintained.
  • While more people are wearing masks, Dr. Tam referred to reports she has heard of some people being judged for not wearing one. She noted that some may not be able to wear a face covering due to health issues; masks are not recommended for children under two. She encouraged everyone to be understanding given that wearing a mask for some is not possible.
  • In areas where COVID-19 is active, she explained that a mask provides an added layer of protection when physical distancing is difficult and can be seen as an act of kindness and respect for others versus an infringement on one's freedom.

Provincial

Addressing Conditions in Long-Term Care Homes

  • During yesterday's media briefing, Premier Ford and Long-Term Care Minister Fullerton were asked many pointed questions about why the government didn't take action sooner to improve conditions in long-term care homes, given the findings of earlier inspections. Some of the messages conveyed by the Premier and Minister included:
    • The challenges faced by the Ministry of Long-Term Care in addressing a staffing crisis.
    • Unionized government inspectors, refusing to go into the province's long-term care homes to carry out inspections in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic because of safety concerns.
    • The Premier indicating that he was sick of "taking bullets" for them [the inspectors]... they have to be accountable too".
    • An independent inquiry into long-term care will examine the role of ministry bureaucrats on the file.
    • Investors being encouraged to hold company executives responsible for shortcomings at long-term care homes.
    • The Premier remarking "You put a lousy product out there, something happens to your product - well, they have to be held accountable. Because guess what, we're going to hold them accountable."

Mandate of Incident Management Long-Term Care Table Extended

  • Yesterday, Premier Ford announced that the provincial government is extending the mandate of the Incident Management System (IMS) Long-Term Care Table to deal with issues related to staffing levels, infection management and resources during the COVID-19 outbreak.
  • The IMS structure was established in April to coordinate efforts across multiple providers and government to make rapid decisions that support long-term care homes in need (e.g. to control outbreaks, complete infection prevention and control assessments, ensure appropriate staffing , access personal protective equipment and complete the testing of all long-term care home residents and staff).
  • This 10-person table, which brings together health professionals from the ministry, hospitals, Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health and the Coroner, meets daily to make decisions and ensure resources are deployed to tackle urgent issues in the long-term care sector.

Testing and Data Sharing

  • In response to media requests to provide data showing where the hot spots are in Ontario, Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Williams, said that it wasn't appropriate that he do so. He explained that each public health unit has been approaching this issue differently and is better positioned to release their local data and explain its implications for their region as was done recently by Toronto Public Health.
  • Dr. Williams noted that the increase in daily cases is likely due to social gatherings during the Victoria Day weekend.
  • He is still calling for measures such as limiting gatherings to five people for now until he sees the numbers of daily cases decrease to under 200.

Local

  • Kindergarten registration is underway at Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board. For Year 1 (JK), children must be age 4 in 2020 (born in 2016), or for Year 2 (SK), children must be age 5 (born in 2015) in 2020. Please go to www.HPEschools.ca to register online.

  • The City of Belleville issued a reminder that starting June 1, residents will be allowed to place ONE bag of garbage without tags at the curb for pick-up on collection day. All other bags collected will require bag tags.

  • In Prince Edward County the seasonal 1” bulk water stations in Picton (15 MacSteven Drive) and Wellington (111 Belleville Street) are now in service for use during the summer of 2020, with physical distancing precautions in place. Those wishing to use the filling stations must supply a clean connecting hose of at least 15 feet in length with a 1” female CamLock fitting. The bulk water stations are not sanitized between uses. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, customers should wash and sanitize their hands as soon as possible after using the stations.

  • Prince Edward County issued a notice informing residents that free parking will continue and residents can also put out one bag of untagged garbage until June 30. There are also additional dates of operation for area landfill sites.

  • EENET Connect, a group for mental health out of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is offering an online event for Health Care Workers, June 22 from  1:30 pm to 3:30 pm (Eastern Daylight Time). Participants can register through their website.

Public Health
  • Wondering how to get assessed and tested for COVID-19 in Hastings and Prince Edward Counties? Visit our Getting Tested for COVID-19 web page for more information.
  • Space is still available to participate in the upcoming webinar for local businesses, hosted by HPEPH in partnership with Hastings County, on June 1 at 10:30 am. Participants will be provided with an overview of provincial guidelines available to help local businesses re-open following COVID-19 closures. To register, please follow the Eventbrite link. Registration has been extended to Saturday, May 30. Note that there is a limit to the number of participants, and spots will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

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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