For Municipal Partners

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Municipal Partners

September 1, 2020

To ensure everyone has current information during this quickly evolving outbreak, 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 has 49 cumulative lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19, for a total of 5 active cases, with 39 having recovered and 5 deceased. More than 23,400 tests have been completed to date.
  • There are no local facilities experiencing COVID-19 outbreak; additional outbreak details can be found online.
  • More information is available on our website hpePublicHealth.ca.

• In Canada, there are 128,948 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 5,604 active cases. To date, there have been 9,126 deaths and more than 5,504,392 individuals tested.

Summary of cases of COVID-19: Ontario, Jan. 15, 2020 to Aug. 31, 2020

Federal

New measures to ensure the supply of future vaccines and COVID-19 therapies

• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced yesterday that agreements in principle have been reached with Johnson & Johnson and Novavax to procure millions of doses of experimental COVID‑19 vaccines.
• These agreements add to those already reached with Pfizer and Moderna, which were made following the recommendations of the COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force.
• The Prime Minister also announced funding to establish a new biomanufacturing facility at the Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre in Montréal. Through a public-private partnership, the new building will enable the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) to increase vaccine manufacturing to up to two million doses per month by next year.

Government extends CEBA application deadline

• Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland announced yesterday that the application deadline for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) is extended from Aug. 31 to Oct. 31, 2020.
• The government is working closely with financial institutions to make the CEBA program available to those with qualifying payroll or non-deferrable expenses that have so far been unable to apply due to not operating from a business banking account.
• Further details on these changes will be released in coming days, including a new business account opening process through which qualifying businesses will be able to apply.

Prime Minister announces support for a safe return to school

• On Aug. 26, Prime Minister Trudeau announced up to $2 B in support for provinces and territories through the Safe Return to Class Fund that will provide the complementary funding they need, as they work alongside local school boards to ensure the safety of students and staff members throughout the school year.
• The Fund will help provinces and territories by supporting adapted learning spaces, improved air ventilation, increased hand sanitation and hygiene, and purchases of personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies.
• The Prime Minister also announced an additional $112 M in funding for First Nations to support community measures to ensure a safe return to school on reserves.

Provincial

Ontario Releases COVID-19 Management Plan for Schools

• As part of provincial government’s plan for students to safely return to the classroom in September, the government has released the Operational Guidance: COVID-19 Management in Schools document. This guide was developed in consultation with public health experts, including Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health, and aims to help schools identify and isolate COVID-19 cases, reduce the spread of COVID-19 in schools, and prevent and minimize outbreaks.
• The Chief Medical Officer of Health has also issued an additional public health directive/framework, COVID-19 Guidance: School Outbreak Management, for medical officers of health and public health units to support their efforts in investigating cases, outbreaks, and suspected outbreaks in school settings.

Ontario Helps Young People Along the Path to Lifelong Success

• The provincial government is creating opportunities for young people through the inaugural work and membership of the Premier's Council on Equality of Opportunity. To further support disadvantaged youth and job seekers from underrepresented groups, the province is investing $2.2M to help them develop the skills they need for successful careers.
• As part of the government's overall investment, $500,000 will be used to prepare 100 disadvantaged youth with training in cloud computing and programming. The 12-week program is run by Youth Employment Services in partnership with Amazon, Accenture and Fast Lane training.

Safe Outings Now Possible for Long-Term Care Home Residents

• The provincial government is pleased to announce that long-term care residents can once again leave their residences for short-stay and temporary absences.
• Following the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, effective immediately, residents can spend time away from their long-term care homes for day trips or overnight absences. For 'short-stay' absences — those that do not include an overnight stay — homes must provide residents with a medical mask to be worn at all times when outside of the home, if tolerated, and remind them of the importance of public health measures, including physical distancing. When they return, residents must be actively screened but are not required to be tested or to self-isolate.

Additional Funds Enhance Ontario's Robust Back-to-School Plan

• The provincial government's back-to-school plan, developed in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health and public health officials, is being further enhanced by additional federal investments and resources to support the return to class in the fall.
• Last week’s federal announcement provides $381M to Ontario, on top of the nearly $900M provided by the province to support provincial back-to-school plans.
• The province is also setting aside $50M for any future pandemic learning needs, to ensure that Ontario is prepared for every scenario this Fall.

Ontario Supports Local Distillery in the Fight Against COVID-19

• The Ontario government is investing $455,000 from the Ontario Together Fund in Dairy Distillery to retool its operations and increase its capacity to manufacture hand sanitizer to help in the response to the fight against COVID-19.

Local

• A number of upcoming City of Quinte West meetings will be held electronically on the municipality’s YouTube page. City Hall will not be open to the public for the meetings and committee members will be participating remotely.

• The City of Belleville is advising residents that effective Sept. 1, the deadline for bulky item pick-up requests will be moved to Wednesdays by 4:30 p.m. for pick-up on Fridays. Requests can be made online or in-person. Learn more by visiting their website.

• The City of Belleville is reminding residents that the Farmers’ Market is now open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Market Square behind City Hall. Stop by for fresh produce, meats, jams, baked goods, artisan products and more. Visit their website for vendor info.

• Hastings County is gradually resuming in-person services. Hastings County offices will be reopening to the public by appointment only in a limited capacity, beginning Sept. 8, 2020. Residents are encouraged to conduct their business by telephone (613-966-1311 or 1-866-267-0575), or electronically whenever possible, and visit the office for urgent matters only.

• Congratulations to Tweed Mayor and Hastings County Councillor Joanne Albert on her election to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario Board of Directors for 2020-2022.

• Quinte Health Care laboratory staff are now performing COVID-19 testing, cutting much of the wait for results and adding another layer of readiness for an anticipated second wave of infection.

• The Prince Edward County Community Care for Seniors Association has restarted the Homemaking Program (light housekeeping) serving seniors 60+, with strict COVID-19 screening and protocols. For more information, call 613-476-7493 and leave a detailed message.

• At a Special Board Meeting on Aug. 27, the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board (ALCDSB) Trustees approved a motion for mandatory masks from Kindergarten to Grade 3 as well as the previous mandate from the Ministry of Education for mandatory masks for Grades 4 to 12. More details available in the release.

• On Aug. 28, Hastings Prince Edward District School Board (HEPDSB) issued a letter to parents of students with special needs detailing the measures being taken to protect students during their return to school.

Public Health

• HPEPH and local school boards have spent the summer planning for the safe reopening of schools and establishing appropriate processes to keep students safe and healthy both physically and emotionally. While measures have been put in place at schools to support students’ mental health, parents and guardians remain the biggest and most important support for children and youth. Learn more by reviewing our media release.

• Yesterday, Acting Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Alexa Caturay, released a statement regarding students’ return to school this fall, and the steps being taken by HPEPH, in partnership with area school boards and the Ministry of Health to help keep everyone safe.

• August 31 was International Overdose Awareness Day, which was especially relevant this year as the world experiences the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the month of April, there was a 50% increase in opioid related deaths in Ontario. In addition, Hastings and Prince Edward County was one of five regions in the province to see a 30% increase in hospital attended overdoses in 2020.

• HPEPH has been working with area school boards and independent schools to prepare for a safe return to school this fall. To assist parents with planning for back to school we have created a Back to School page on our website, with all the information that is currently available and a number of frequently asked questions and responses.

• HPEPH monitors bathing beach water quality at designated municipal public beaches within our jurisdiction. Bathing beach water quality is monitored by the collection and analysis of water samples. Currently, Frankford Park – Trent River beach is posted as unsafe for swimming.

• HPEPH continues to remind residents that COVID-19 testing is available. Individuals who are concerned that they may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 or are experiencing COVID-19 related symptoms should contact their health care provider, TeleHealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000, or their local COVID-19 Assessment Centre. Visit our Getting Tested web page for more information. Individuals who have questions about COVID-19 are encouraged to call the HPEPH COVID-19 information line at 613-966-5500 / 1-800-267-2803. The info line is extending hours of operation, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., from Sept. 3 to Sept. 11 (excluding weekends and statutory holidays).

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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