For Municipal Partners

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Municipal Partners

April 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 over the next several weeks.

For more information please review our website or call 613-966-5500.

Updates

Epidemiological

• Hastings Prince Edward Public Health now has 13 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 254 probable cases. More details are available on our website hpePublicHealth.ca.

• Canada: 9,017 cases have been confirmed positive for COVID-19, with 105 deaths reported due to COVID-19.

Summary of cases of COVID-19: Ontario, January 15, 2020 to March 31, 2020

Note: 14 cases did not specify male or female. The age of three cases were unknown.

• There are 2,392 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario reported to date in the integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS). This represents an increase of 426 confirmed cases from the previous report.
  • 49.7% of cases are male, 49.7% are female.
  • The median age is 50, ranging in age from <1 to 105 years of age.
  • Greater Toronto Area public health units account for 56.0% of cases.
• Of all cases, 23.7% had travelled in the 14 days prior to becoming ill, 10.6% had close contact with a confirmed case, 16.1% had neither and 49.5% have exposure information pending.
• 11.3% of cases were hospitalized and 37 deaths have been reported (please note there may be a reporting delay for deaths in iPHIS).
• Twelve outbreaks have been reported in long-term care homes.

Federal

Procuring Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

• Yesterday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau committed another $2B to purchase PPE, including bulk purchasing by provinces.
• Procurement contracts have been signed with three Canadian companies (Thornhill Medical, Medicalm and Spartan Bioscience) to build medical supplies such as ventilators, masks and testing kits.
• Some 3,000 companies have indicated their willingness to help out.
• Shipments of PPE will be coming in the next few days.

COVID-19 Cases in Canada

At yesterday's COVID-19 press conference, Dr. Theresa Tam, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, reported that:

• Canada saw its first death of an individual in their 30s yesterday.
• Over 230,000 COVID-19 tests have been done in Canada.

Provincial

• Once again, Premier Doug Ford urged everyone to follow public health messages emphasizing, "What we do today will determine what will happen tomorrow... Every week, every day, every hour, we can push [away] that surge on the healthcare system and save lives." Described below are the measures announced today by the province.

Emergency Declaration Extended and Broadened

• The Declaration of Emergency and associated emergency measures have been extended until April 13th (the date can be extended as needed).
• A new emergency order was issued to close all outdoor recreational amenities including but not limited to playgrounds, sports fields, basketball and tennis courts, off-leash dog parks, beaches, skateboard and BMX parks, picnic areas, outdoor community gardens, park shelters, outdoor exercise equipment, condo parks and gardens; whether communal or shared, public or private.

School and Child Care Closures Extended and Online Learning Expanded

• Public schools are to remain closed until May 4th for students and May 1st for teachers.
• Private schools, licensed child care centres and EarlyON programs will also remain closed until April 13 (as per the Emergency Declaration).
• The province launched the second phase of Learn at Home to support student learning.
• Students will be reconnecting with their teachers and other school staff, including mental health workers for three to ten hours a week online depending on the grade.

Supports for Postsecondary Students

• Payments under the Ontario Student Assistance Program loans have been deferred temporarily through a six-month interest-free moratorium until September 30, 2020.
• New online learning supports in English and French are being introduced;
• eCampusOntario will make digital learning supports available to postsecondary institutions and year-end assessments will be conducted.
• $25 million will go to publicly-assisted colleges, universities and Indigenous institutes to help them respond to COVID-19 (e.g. for deep cleaning, purchasing medical supplies, offering mental health supports).

Public Now Required to Identify Themselves if Charged with Breaching an Emergency Order

• People who are being charged with an offence under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act will be required to identify themselves if asked by a provincial offences officer, which includes police officers, First Nations constables, special constables and municipal by-law enforcement officers. This temporary power was approved by the Ontario government today through an emergency order to better protect people during this COVID-19 outbreak.

Local

• Two referral-only COVID-19 assessment centres are set to open imminently. One is located in Picton and one in Belleville. Those who present to the assessment centre MUST have a medical referral, no walk-ins will be tested.

• The Municipality of Tweed declared a state of emergency yesterday, effective immediately and in effect until further notice.

• Free parking in Picton will continue through June 1, 2020. Payment is not required at the parking stations, which will help reduce the risk of spreading the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) through the high-touch surfaces.
  • Parking is free alng streets in the downtown core and in the Market Lane parking lot.
  • The tw-hour maximum for street parking remains in effect. The time limit does not apply to parking spaces in Market Lane.
  • Parking enfrcement during free parking continues for other infractions such as blocking fire routes, parking in an accessible space without a permit, and disobeying no-parking restrictions.
• The City of Belleville has closed all outdoor recreational amenities. This new order closes all communal or shared, public or private, outdoor recreational amenities everywhere in Ontario including, but not limited to, playgrounds, sports fields, basketball and tennis courts, off-leash dog parks, beaches, skateboard and BMX parks, picnic areas, outdoor community gardens, park shelters, outdoor exercise equipment, condo parks and gardens, and other outdoor recreational amenities. City employees are in the process of closing these facilities and the public is asked to respect these changes. City bylaw officers will be working in cooperation with Belleville Police Service to ensure the rules are being followed and may issue fines or more severe penalties to anyone not doing so.
  • Belleville’s waterfrnt trails, green spaces in parks, trails, ravines and conservation areas that aren't otherwise closed remain open for walkthrough access, but individuals must maintain the safe physical distance of at least two metres apart from others.
  • The City cntinues to maintain the portable washroom facilities located at Gleaners Foodbank, Bridge Street United Church, Grace Inn and the Salvation Army.

• An expanded tax-filing program offered by the Prince Edward Learning Centre will ensure more residents economically impacted by COVID-19 can access federal and provincial funding. Because residents need to have filed their taxes last year to access funding, the County has fast-tracked support for Prince Edward Learning Centre, which is helping the most vulnerable members of the community.

Public Health

• An employee at Hastings Manor has tested positive for COVID-19. On March 30 an employee who reported for work failed the active screening process and was sent home. The employee at no time entered the manor. The employee subsequently sought medical assistance, was tested and determined to be COVID-19 positive. At the direction of HPEPH, the employee is now in self-isolation. Prior to March 30 the employee exhibited no symptoms and passed the screening protocol. A further six employees have been identified as close contacts and have been directed to enter into 14 days of self-isolation and to monitor their health. Hastings Manor is working closely with HPEPH.

• HPEPH continues to support Kruger Products and Belleville General Hospital with their respective response to and monitoring of a confirmed instance of COVID-19 in each of their facilities. Affected individuals are in self-isolation and close contacts have also been identified and advised to self-isolate for 14 days and monitor for symptoms.

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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