For Municipal Partners

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Municipal Partners

November 10, 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 have 82 cumulative lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19. There were no new cases reported today for a total of 2 active cases, with 75 having recovered and 5 deceased. 
  • There are no local long-term care 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 268,765 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 30,003 active cases. To date, there have been 10,564 COVID-19 related deaths and more than 9,986,069 individuals tested.

Summary of cases of COVID-19: Ontario, Jan. 15, 2020 to Nov. 9, 2020

Summary of Cases in Ontario Schools - Updated Nov 10, 2020.

HPEPH

• Change to Website:
  • A new web page about how to safely celebrate holidays and special events has been created.
• Please note our dashboard is now updated at 2 pm Mon-Fri except statutory holidays. Going forward, daily updates will now be sent between 12-1 pm.

Local

• FREE Radon Testing Kits

• Municipalities can apply for free radon testing kits for 2021 at https://takeactiononradon.ca/100-radon-test-kit-challenge

• PEC has extended the suspension of penalties and interest on water and wastewater bills through to February 28, 2021

• The County of Prince Edward has not charged penalties and interest on water and wastewater bills since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has extended suspension of penalties & interest on water & wastewater bills until February 28, 2021,
• The County is not deferring water and wastewater bills in order to ensure the municipality has the financial means to operate the systems. Those unable to pay their utilities bills in full are asked to contact the County to make a payment arrangement.

Provincial

The 2020 Provincial Budget provides more resources to strengthen frontline health care, support people and employers, and lay the groundwork for Ontario’s recovery

• Finance Minister Rod Phillips released the next phase of a comprehensive action plan to respond to the serious health and economic impacts of COVID-19. Ontario's Action Plan now sets out a total of $45 billion in support over three years to make available the necessary health resources to continue protecting people, deliver critical programs and tax measures to support individuals, families and job creators impacted by the virus, and lay the groundwork for a robust long-term economic recovery for the province.
• Protect, support, and recovery are the three main pillars.
• • Protect — $15.2B, including $7.5B in new funding, for the government's urgent response to COVID-19.
  • Support — $13.5B, including $2.4B in additional supports for people and jobs.
  • Recover — $4.8B in new supports to build the foundation for a strong recovery fuelled by economic growth.

Province Launching Recruitment Program to Support Long-Term Care Sector:

• The Ontario Workforce Reserve for Senior Support is a new program focused on recruiting, training and deploying individuals as Resident Support Aides (RSA) to work at homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. These RSA's will assist residents with daily living activities including assistance during meal times and nutrition breaks or with the coordination of visits and support with technology or recreational activities. The new recruits will be deployed in areas most in need such as Ottawa, Peel and Toronto.
• Individuals interested in the program are encouraged to create a profile on the Ontario Matching Portal, where they will be screened, trained and matched with a long-term care home requiring support. To ensure proper training, candidates will be asked to complete online modules focusing on Infection Prevention and Control, Personal Protective Equipment, and review an overview of long-term care and seniors care.

Ontario Providing Additional Public Health Support for Peel Region:

• In response to the increased need for local COVID-19 testing, Ontario is providing more sites and innovative options such as:
  • Establishing three new community-based testing centres in Brampton by Tuesday
  • Implementing mobile testing sites to respond to an increase in localized demand for tests within the community
  • Opening limited walk-in availability at assessment centres for those who can't book an appointment online or by phone; and
  • Implementing up to 7 pharmacies or specimen collection centres over the next two weeks.

• Up to 70 case and contact management staff have started onboarding to support Peel Region directly.
• Ten public health units across the province (including HPEPH) with lower case counts are now assisting Peel Region with case investigation.
• Over the weekend, Peel's Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Lawrence Loh, issued restrictions beyond those put in place by the provincial government after his request to continue a ban on indoor dining and keeping gyms and theatres closed was declined by the province. Dr. Loh also called on residents to not visit with those outside of their own household stressing that "It is time to shrink our lives to stop COVID-19 from growing completely out of control."
• The Mayor of Toronto indicated that this Tuesday they may announce some new measures to address the increasing rates of COVID-19 in Toronto; the Premier noted that "Dr. de Villa has the authority and the power to change things if she is not comfortable... and we will respect her decisions."
   

Ontario's COVID-19 Data Dashboard

• As previously reported, Ontario's COVID-19 Data Dashboard, Ontario.ca/coronavirus has been updated to include local cases by public health unit regions, the total number of cases, resolved cases, deaths, and tests completed. The province will continue to add data sets as they become available, such as sources of outbreaks as a subset of overall cases.
   

Opioid-Related Deaths in Ontario during the COVID-19 Pandemic

• COVID-19 has worsened the opioid crisis, leading to increased opioid-related death in Ontario. In this newly released report, preliminary patterns in circumstances surrounding these deaths are described.
  • There has been a 40% increase in opioid-related deaths since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Physical distancing measures intended to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 may have led to unintended harms and worsened the overdose crisis in terms of opioid-related deaths.
  • The vast majority of opioid-related deaths continue to be accidental, rising to 46/week in the first few months of COVID-19 from 34/week before the pandemic. If this trend continues, 2,271 deaths are expected in 2020 vs. 1,512 in 2019
  • The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the opioid crisis, with greater opioid-related deaths in neighbourhoods with higher ethnic diversity. Deaths continue to occur more among men and in neighbourhoods with the highest material deprivation.
  • Three-quarters of opioid-related deaths during the pandemic occurred when the person was alone. Accordingly, there were fewer resuscitation attempts and less naloxone administration compared to before the pandemic.

Increase in Cases, Testing and Hospitalizations:

• Ontario's Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Yaffe, noted for the last four days Ontario has reported over 1,000 new cases per day, including a record high of 1,328 cases on Sunday November 8th; 1,242 cases on Monday November 9th, the second-most on a single day; and the 7-day average for new cases now stands at 1,106; which is up from 919 one week ago;
• 28,401 tests were completed on Sunday with a positivity rate of 5%; and the 7-day average stands at 33,716 tests processed per day with a positivity rate of 3.9%; and
• Hospitalizations have declined by seven to 367 across the province with 84 patients in intensive care units. Dr. Yaffe cautioned that these numbers do not include data from all hospitals, so the numbers will likely be higher than what is being reported.
   

Ontario earmarks $5M for COVID-19-hit agricultural, horticultural societies:

• The provincial government is investing $5M to help offset revenue losses for eligible agricultural and horticultural societies impacted by the necessary cancellation of fall fairs and exhibits during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
• The one-time funding earmarked for the societies comes as part of Ontario’s 2020 budget, unveiled last week, and is in addition to other measures taken to help the sector.
• To be eligible to receive funding, Ontario agricultural and horticultural societies must demonstrate financial hardship.
   

Employment Statistics: Employment increased over each of the last five months with 30,600 new jobs in October. Since June, 868,600 jobs have been created leading to the gradual stabilization of the provincial economy.
 

2022 Valour Games: Ontario is committing $3M to support the Valour Games, a new, national multi-sport competition for wounded, ill and injured military personnel and veterans.

Federal

Updated COVID-19 Guidelines on Risk of Airborne Spread:

• The Public Health Agency of Canada updated its guidance this week, flagging the risk of transmission from aerosols or microscopic airborne particles.
• The guidance on how COVID-19 spread now details that "SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, spreads from an infected person to others through respiratory droplets and aerosols created when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, shouts, or talks."
• Dr. Tam advised using three-layer masks in closed or crowded spaces and noted that while "there is recognition that droplets of different sizes will play a role, how much or how important a role is played by the smaller-sized droplets, or the aerosols, still remains an area of research."

COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy:

• Dr. Tam said she is "cautiously optimistic" that safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines will be available in the first quarter of 2021. Prime Minister Trudeau noted that the "federal government has moved forward on procuring access to a large suite of different potential vaccines from around the world," emphasizing that Canada has "one of the best potential vaccine portfolios of any of our peer countries right now."
• Dr. Tam said she received preliminary guidance from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization on the key populations that should be considered for early COVID-19 vaccination. This priority population groups include: those over 70, people who are at risk of severe outcomes; workers essential to maintaining the pandemic response (e.g. health care professionals) or other essential services for the functioning of society (e.g. police, fire fighters, grocery store workers); and people whose living or working conditions put them at elevated risk of infection and its disproportionate consequences, including Indigenous communities.

COVID-19 Vaccines:

• Pfizer and BioNTech announced trial data showing their COVID-19 vaccine is more than 90% effective. Media reports indicate that the company is on track to file an emergency use application with US regulators at the Food and Drug Administration.
• Prime Minister Trudeau noted that Canada has already signed an agreement with Pfizer and BioNTech to buy 20 million doses of their vaccine candidate.
• PM Trudeau cautioned Canadians to continue to follow public health guidelines to keep the pandemic under control. He warned "if you catch COVID in the coming days and weeks, a vaccine won't help you or your family."
• Health Minister Elliott indicated there is a group within Ontario's Ministry of Health that is making arrangements to determine who will be prioritized for vaccination when a vaccine is available for distribution to promote a fair and equitable approach.

The CBSA, Health Canada and RCMP announce the results of Project Purify:

• Project Purify is a multi-departmental partnership between the CBSA, Health Canada and the RCMP, which was established to enhance the identification, interception and tracking of unauthorized or counterfeit COVID-19 health-related products in British Columbia between March 20th and June 30th, 2020.
• During this period, over 380 shipments of unauthorized content or counterfeit COVID-19-related goods were detained at the border, including:
  • 48,000 COVID-19 test kits;
  • 4.5 million units of personal protective equipment;
  • 33,000 prescription tablets and pills; and
  • Over 1,500 other intercepts of fraudulent and potentially dangerous products
     

Federal support for airlines to be contingent on refunds for passengers:

• The federal government says it will make any new support for Canada’s airline industry during the COVID-19 pandemic contingent on refunds for passengers whose flights were cancelled.
• To protect Canadians, the Government of Canada is developing a package of assistance to Canadian airlines, airports and the aerospace sector. As part of this package, they will establish a process with major airlines regarding financial assistance which could include loans and potentially other support to secure important results for Canadians.
   

Innovation Assistance Program: the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program's Innovation Assistance Program was extended through $155M in federal funding.

Food Security: Food Banks Canada has launched through $2.3M in federal funding the Rural and Northern Capacity Fund to address food insecurity in underserved communities.

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

Contact Information: 

To give us your comments: etubbs@hpeph.ca

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