For Municipal Partners

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Municipal Partners

May 21, 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 183 probable cases, with 31 lab-confirmed cases having recovered and 5 deceased.
    • Approximately 6,500 COVID-19 tests have been conducted, with a 0.7% positivity rate.
    • Facilities experiencing COVID-19 outbreak can be found online.
    • More details are available on our website hpePublicHealth.ca.
  • In Canada, there are 80,091 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 resulting in 6,030 deaths. To date, over 1,375,126 individuals have been tested.

Summary of cases of COVID-19: Ontario, January 15, 2020 to May 20, 2020

  Number Percentage
Number of cases 24,187 N/A
Change from previous report (new cases) 413 1.7 increase
Resolved 18,509 76.5
Subset of all cases that are reported to be long-term care residents 4,656 19.3
Subset of all cases that are reported as a health care worker associated with long-term care outbreaks 1,601 6.6
Total number of deaths 1,993 8.2
Deaths reported for residents in long-term care homes 1,242 62.3
Deaths reported for health care workers in long-term care homes 4 0.2
Demographics    
Male 10,279 42.5
Female 13,735 56.8
19 and under 713 2.9
20-39 5,951 24.6
40-59 7,355 30.4
60-79 5,075 21.0
80 and over 5,080 21.0
Testing    
Total tests completed 577,682   N/A
Total tests completed in the previous day 10,506 N/A
Currently under investigation 5,051 N/A
Hospitalizations    
Number of patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19 984 N/A
Number of patients currently in ICU with COVID-19 155 N/A
Number of patients currently in ICU on a ventilator with COVID-19 117 N/A

 

Note: 173 cases did not specify male or female. 13 cases had an unknown age.

  • There are 24,187 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario reported to date. This represents an increase of 413 confirmed cases from the previous report.
    • 42.5% of cases are male, 56.8% are female.
    • 42.0% of cases are 60 years of age and older.
    • Greater Toronto Area public health units account for 63.6% of cases.
    • 12.8% of cases were hospitalized.
  • 1,993 deaths have been reported (please note there may be a reporting delay for deaths). This is an increase of 31 deaths from the previous report.
  • 287 outbreaks have been reported in long-term care homes. This is an increase of 3 outbreaks from the previous report.

Federal

Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance Program

  • This benefit will provide forgivable loans to landlords so they can reduce their rents by 75% for those small business tenants that have lost the majority of their revenue due to COVID-19.
  • The government will cover 50% of the rent, landlords will need to absorb 25% and tenants will have to pay the remaining 25% with support from the Canadian Emergency Benefit Assistance program.
  • Landlords who are eligible for this benefit can apply at cmhc.ca starting May 25.

Provincial

Reopening Phase One

  • As Ontario is adapting to "The New Normal", Premier Ford emphasized that he and his colleagues are closely watching the trends and the rates of spread. He also stressed that he "won't hesitate to roll things back if necessary".
  • When asked about testing, the Premier said that he was shocked to see the low numbers from yesterday. He assured the media that he is working with Ontario Health and Public Health Units to ramp up testing during this crucial phase of preparing for Stage 2 of the reopening of the economy. He noted that "We are going to ramp up the testing like this province has never seen... I'm going to be all over this testing."

New Measures Dealing with Face Coverings and Public Transit

  • The province released face covering recommendations that included when and how to wear, clean and dispose of face coverings.
  • Recommendations for provincial transit agencies were also released to protect transit staff and riders. These ranged from having plexiglass windows between drivers and passengers, fewer passengers, physical markers between seats and alcohol-based hand rub upon entering and exiting public transit vehicles.

Support for Post-Secondary Students

  • The Ontario government announced it is reducing financial barriers for full-time post-secondary students by providing a six-month temporary deferral of Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) loan payments and interest accrual on OSAP loans from March 30 to September 30, 2020.
  • Those in need of support can now apply for the OSAP.
  • The province has also worked with post-secondary institutions to support virtual learning and virtual exams.

Local

  • Good Food Market Bags can be now ordered for pick up in Belleville and Trenton. In Belleville, June orders must be received by noon on Friday, June 5. In Trenton, orders must be placed by noon on Friday, May 22.

  • The City of Belleville has proposed changes to summer festivities. The Canada Day celebration on July 1, planned for the park will now be a celebration parade of national pride. The Waterfront & Multicultural Festival will be replaced by two separate activities that will take advantage of currently compliant services and leverage the existing resources in the community. More details are available in the release.

Reopening of Amenities

  • Municipalities are reopening some public amenities with restrictions in place. Those using the amenities must maintain a physical distance of at least two metres from any other person, unless they are from the same household. With no gatherings of over 5 people allowed, individuals are not permitted to play team sports, such as soccer or baseball, even on fields intended for this purpose, unless they are members of the same household.
  • The following amenities have reopened in Prince Edward County:
    • Outdoor sports facilities and multi-use fields, including baseball diamonds, soccer fields, tennis/pickle ball courts, the skate park in Picton, and basketball courts.
    • Off-leash dog areas.
    • Outdoor picnic sites, benches, and shelters in park and recreational areas.
  • The City of Quinte West is reopening a number of outdoor amenities between today and Friday:
    • Hanna Park fenced dog area.
    • Skateparks.
    • Soccer fields and basketball courts (not intended for team sports).
    • Covered picnic areas.
    • Municipal boat launch docks (with the exception of Centennial Park due to current water levels).
  • Effective immediately the City of Belleville is opening the following amenities:
    • Outdoor sports facilities and multi-use fields (including baseball diamonds, soccer field, and Frisbee golf locations, tennis, platform tennis, table tennis and pickleball courts, basketball courts, BMX parks and skate parks).
    • Off-leash dog areas.
    • Outdoor picnic sites, benches and shelters in park and recreational areas.
  • The Municipality of Tweed is reopening some public spaces. This includes Tweed Memorial Park, Moira Park, McCamon Park, Fairgrounds Track, and the soccer field. Some recreation areas will begin opening in stages.

Public Health
  • Dr. Piotr Oglaza is hosting our weekly Facebook Live event today at 2:00 pm. If you are unable to participate in the live event, go to the Hastings Prince Edward Public Health Facebook page facebook.com/hpepublichealth afterwards to watch the recorded video.

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

You have received this email at from Hastings Prince Edward Public Health as a result of a request you have made or due to a service/subscription that you are registered for. While you may discontinue your subscription to this mailing at any time by pressing the unsubscribe button below, this bulletin will be used to provide important updates about COVID-19 in our community.