For Municipal Partners

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Municipal Partners

July 13, 2021

To ensure everyone has current information, 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 1,135 cumulative lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 4 active, 1,120 resolved and 11 deceased. There were no new cases reported today.
  • There is no local long-term care facility experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak; additional outbreak details can be found online.
  • More information is available on our website hpePublicHealth.ca
• VOCs: 500
• 7 day case rate: 0.6 per 100,000                         ~ Positivity Rate: 0.4%
• Individuals with first dose:  117,151                     ~ Fully vaccinated individuals to date:  75,079

Vaccinations by Client Location - Dose 1 (as at July 13, 2021)

• Ontario is reporting 146 cases of COVID-19 as nearly 17,500 tests were completed. Locally, there are 43 new cases in Toronto, 36 in the Region of Waterloo, 13 in Peel Region, 11 in Hamilton and 10 in Middlesex-London.

• In Canada, as at July 12, 2021, there are 1,421,108 total cases of COVID-19 with 5,151 active cases and 1,389,519 recovered. To date, there have been 26,438 COVID-19 related deaths and more than 36,243,642 individuals tested.

Summary of cases of COVID-19: Ontario, January 15, 2020 to July 12, 2021

Local Updates

Upcoming Vaccination Clinics - 12+ years of age

Loyalist College - Belleville - 9 am to 4 pm

• Wednesday, July 14
• Thursday, July 15
• Friday, July 16
• Monday, July 19
• Wednesday, July 21
• Thursday, July 22
• Friday, July 23

Loyalist College - Belleville - 12 pm to 7 pm

• Tuesday, July 20

Quinte Sports & Wellness Centre - Belleville - 9 am to 5 pm

• Wednesday, July 14
• Thursday, July 15
• Friday, July 16
• Saturday, July 17
• Tuesday, July 20
• Wednesday, July 21
• Thursday, July 22
• Friday, July 23
• Saturday, July 24

Quinte Sports & Wellness Centre - Belleville - 11 am to 7 pm

• Monday, July 19

Prince Edward Community Centre - Picton - 9:30 am to 3:30 pm

• Saturday, July 17
• Sunday, July 18
• Monday, July 19
• Tuesday, July 20
• Wednesday, July 21
• Thursday, July 22

Bancroft Legion - Bancroft - 10 am - 3 pm

• Monday, July 19
• Thursday, July 22

Please note that youth aged 12-17 are invited to walk-in appointments at several upcoming clinics. See our Booking and Eligibility page for more information.

Provincial

Ontario Moving to Step Three of Roadmap to Reopen on July 16

• The Ontario government is moving the province into Step Three of the Roadmap to Reopen at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 16, 2021.
• In order to enter Step Three of the Roadmap, Ontario needed to have vaccinated 70 to 80 per cent of individuals 18 years of age or older with one dose and 25 per cent with two doses for at least two weeks, ensuring a stronger level of protection against COVID-19.
• After entering Step Two, during the period of June 29 to July 5, 2021, the provincial case rate decreased by 23.3 per cent. As of July 8, the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs is 202, including three patients from Manitoba, as compared to 286 two weeks ago.
• Step Three of the Roadmap focuses on the resumption of additional indoor services with larger numbers of people and restrictions in place. For a full list, view the Roadmap to Reopen.
• Face coverings in indoor public settings and physical distancing requirements remain in place throughout Step Three.
• Please view the regulation for the full list of public health and workplace safety measures that need to be followed.
• The province will remain in Step Three of the Roadmap for at least 21 days and until 80 per cent of the eligible population aged 12 and over has received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 75 per cent have received their second, with no public health unit having less than 70 per cent of their eligible population aged 12 and over fully vaccinated. Other key public health and health care indicators must also continue to remain stable.

Ontario Investing in New Opportunities for Children and Youth

• The Ontario government is investing more than $13 million through the Youth Opportunities Fund to support 36 youth and community-led grassroots projects across the province that help build stronger communities. These projects will provide supports that help children, youth and families develop new skills, overcome barriers, and strengthen relationships within their communities.
• The Youth Opportunities Fund is a grant program administered by the Ontario Trillium Foundation that provides funding and capacity-building supports to local community-driven and youth-led projects that focus on improving the well-being of young people and families facing barriers to success.

Over Half of Ontario Adults Now Vaccinated with Second Dose

• Health care workers across the province have administered more than 16 million doses since the start of the rollout, with Ontario ranking as one of the world’s leading jurisdictions for population percentage to have received their first dose.
• To date, more than 78 per cent of adults aged 18 and over have received at least a first dose and more than 51 per cent have received both doses.
• Delta hot spot communities received more than 772,000 vaccine doses from June 14 to July 5, in addition to their regular per capita allocations.
• On July 5, 2021, Ontario expanded second dose eligibility for all individuals aged 12 and over, surpassing its target to accelerate doses for all groups by the end of August.
• Between May 15 and June 12, 2021, more than 83 per cent of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ontario were individuals who had not received either dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, more than 15 per cent had received one dose, and approximately one per cent had received both doses.

Youth Aged 12-17 Across Ontario Eligible for Accelerated Second Dose

• As of on Monday, July 5, 2021 at 8:00 a.m., youth aged 12 to 17 across the province became eligible to book an accelerated second dose appointment to receive the Pfizer vaccine through the provincial booking system, directly through public health units that use their own booking system, and through participating pharmacies.

Ontario Further Eases Long-Term Care Home Restrictions

• As of Wednesday, July 7
  • Residents can have outdoor visits of up to 10 people.
  • All residents may have up to two general visitors and two caregivers for an indoor visit.
  • Personal care services can resume.
  • Cohorting of residents can be relaxed during outdoor activities.
  •  There is no longer a limit on the number of people who can be designated as a caregiver by a resident or their substitute decision-maker.  
• A further easing of restrictions is planned to align with the timing of Step Three of the Roadmap to Reopen.

Federal

New Guidelines and National Overview of Trends and Cases:

• Total active cases and average daily cases are about 95% lower than the peak of the third wave, with less than 500 new cases being reported daily.
• Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Tam indicated that while the latest national-level data shows a continued decline in disease activity with an average of 461 cases reported daily during the latest 7 day period (July 2-8), the rate of decrease may be slowing.
• The latest national-level data shows a continued downward trend in disease activity with an average of 758 cases reported daily during the latest seven-day period, down 33% compared to last week.
• The latest provincial and territorial data indicates that an average of 747 people with COVID-19 were being treated in Canadian hospitals each day from July 2-8, which is 18% fewer than the previous week.
• The number of individuals being treated in hospital includes, on average 366 people who were being treated in intensive care units (ICU), 19% fewer than last week and an average of 11 deaths were reported daily.
• Compared to the peak of the third wave, there has been a more than 80% reduction in the average daily number people with COVID-19 being treated in our hospitals each day and over 70% fewer people in intensive care units.
• As of July 8, 2021, provinces and territories have administered over 41 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines and a record high of close to 3.7 million doses were administered during the week of June 20 to July 3, 2021.
• Over 78.5% of people aged 12 years or older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 46% are fully vaccinated across Canada.
• Over 76% of adults over the age of 70 years are now fully vaccinated, providing strong protection for those at highest risk for severe outcomes.

Fully vaccinated travellers eligible to enter Canada can benefit from reduced public health measures

• As of July 5, 2021 at 12:01 a.m. EDT, fully vaccinated travellers, arriving by land or air, who are eligible to enter Canada and who comply with specific criteria are not required to quarantine or complete a day-8 test.
• Fully vaccinated travellers arriving by air will are not required to stay at a government-authorized accommodation (GAA) to await their on-arrival test result.
• There are no changes for travellers who are not fully vaccinated. They are still subject to the mandatory 3-day stay at a GAA (air mode), a 14-day quarantine, all testing requirements (pre-arrival, on arrival/day-1 and day-8) and the mandatory submission of information via ArriveCAN before arriving in Canada.
• All current travel restrictions to Canada remain in place and all other public health requirements continue to apply. Discretionary travel (i.e. tourism, recreation, entertainment) by foreign nationals remains prohibited. Travellers attempting to cross the border for these reasons will be turned away.

Online Course Provides Guidance on COVID-19 Risk Assessments and Workplace Safety Plans

• COVID-19 Workplace Risk Assessment and Safety Plan is available in English and French. The course outlines the steps needed to plan and conduct a COVID-19 workplace risk assessment, and to plan and evaluate a workplace safety plan.

Canada announces new contribution to global vaccination efforts and launch of matching fund with UNICEF Canada

• The Government of Canada will donate an additional 17.7 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, procured by Canada with an advance purchase agreement, to the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX).
• The Government of Canada will match, dollar for dollar, donations made by individual Canadians to UNICEF Canada’s COVID-19 vaccination fundraising campaign, up to a maximum of $10 million.
• The matching fund campaign, called “Give A Vax,” will run to September 6, 2021. Canadians who want to donate to UNICEF Canada’s fundraising campaign can do so by going to www.unicef.ca/giveavax or by texting VACCINES to 45678 to donate $10.

Government of Canada COVID-19 update for Indigenous Peoples and communities, week of July 5

• As of July 6, 2021, in First Nations communities with available information, over 87% of individuals aged 18 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and over 55% have received two doses.
• As of July 6, 2021, over 80% of individuals aged 12 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in First Nations, Inuit and territorial communities. Of this group, over 54% have received their second dose.

Government of Canada funds nine new projects to encourage COVID-19 vaccination in Canada

• The African Arts & Culture Community Contributor Society will receive funding to empower Black community leaders in British Columbia as COVID-19 vaccine promoters, establish Black-led vaccine clinics, and develop culturally responsive vaccine resources.
• The Mainline, a program of the Mi'Kmaw Native Friendship Centre, will receive funding to encourage vaccine uptake among people who use drugs and urban Indigenous peoples in Nova Scotia. This project will provide credible COVID-19 vaccine information to these communities and deliver low-barrier vaccine clinics and mobile services.
• Regroupement des centres d'amitié autochtones du Québec will receive funding to train the staff of three Quebec-area Friendship Centres to raise awareness of the importance of vaccinating against COVID-19 among the Indigenous population, with a special focus on youth, through culturally responsive outreach.
• Regina Treaty/Status Indian Services Inc. will receive funding to implement a range of community-based COVID-19 education, promotion, prevention and outreach strategies to support vaccine uptake among urban Indigenous populations in Regina and surrounding communities.
• Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre will receive funding to hold weekly COVID-19 vaccine pop-up clinics at single room occupancy dwellings and homeless shelters for homeless or transient populations in Vancouver and New Westminster. This project will provide COVID-19 testing and vaccine education, promotion, and outreach to facilitate and encourage vaccine uptake among these populations.
• The Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) will receive funding to work with primary care providers across Canada to support vaccine uptake among their patients. This project will develop evidence-based messaging primary care providers can use to reach their patient populations who are less likely to have received the vaccine based on factors such as reason for vaccine hesitancy, age, language, education level, rurality, gender, and ethnicity.
• Nova Scotia's Department of Health and Wellness will receive funding to implement a culturally relevant education and outreach campaign to promote the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines to African Nova Scotians. Rooted in community-level and grassroots engagement, this project will support equitable vaccine access for all People of African Descent in Nova Scotia.
• The University of British Columbia will receive funding to develop an interprovincial network of workshops across the four Western provinces to enhance vaccine uptake. Based on a patient-centred approach, these workshops will engage communities to adapt their local vaccination programs to better address structural barriers faced by the local populations and reduce vaccine hesitancy.
• Women's Health in Women's Hands will receive funding for its project to develop and implement culturally tailored and responsive tools, resources and webinars to improve vaccine uptake among women from the African, Caribbean, Black, Latin American and South Asian communities living in Toronto and surrounding areas.

HPEPH

• Media Release: Residents invited to move up second dose appointments to get fully immunized as soon as possible!

• Media Release: Eligible Youth Invited to Book Second Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine at Earlier Interval

• Media Release: HPEPH working to ensure ongoing safety of local workplaces

• Haven’t received a COVID-19 vaccination? We want to hear from you!
  • To ensure all members of the community have access to the vaccine, HPEPH wants to learn more about why residents might be unable to book an appointment, or why they might choose not to get vaccinated. If you have not received a first dose of COVID-19 vaccination for either reason, we want to hear from you! Please share your input by completing our short, anonymous survey.
  • The survey, which should take no more than five minutes to complete, will help HPEPH understand how we can improve access to and/or available information about COVID-19 vaccination. As a thank you for those who take the time to provide feedback, individuals who participate can choose to provide contact information for a chance to win a $25 gift card to a local store. To participate, the survey must be completed by July 16, 2021.

Useful Links

• Ontario's Roadmap to Reopen
• HPEPH COVID-19 Vaccine Booking and Eligibility web page
• HPEPH COVID-19 Vaccine Standby List
• HPEPH COVID-19 General Information
• HPEPH COVID-19 Information for Health Care Providers
• How Ontario is responding to COVID-19
• Public Health Ontario - COVID-19
• Canada.ca - COVID-19

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