For Municipal Partners

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Municipal Partners

October 27, 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 75 cumulative lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19. There were no new cases reported today for a total of 7 active cases, with 62 having recovered and 5 deceased. More than 45,200 tests have been completed to date.
  • 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 220,213 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 25,934 active cases. To date, there have been 9,937 COVID-19 related deaths and more than 9,650,875 individuals tested.

Summary of cases of COVID-19: Ontario, Jan. 15, 2020 to Oct. 27, 2020

Summary of Cases in Ontario Schools - Updated Oct. 27, 2020.

Federal

COVID-19 Response Measures

• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently announced a $214M investment to advance the development of Canadian COVID‑19 vaccine technologies. In addition, the Prime Minister also announced that the federal government has signed an agreement with Medicago to secure up to 76 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

• While there have been suggestions that a COVID-19 vaccine may be distributed by the end of the year, Prime Minister Trudeau stated that people shouldn't expect there to be a vaccine ready to be distributed before the end of the year or even the beginning of 2021, emphasizing "nothing will be distributed in Canada until Health Canada is absolutely certain the safety of Canadians is being properly covered and taken care of."

• A motion to investigate the federal government’s response to the first wave of COVID-19 was passed yesterday.
   
• Dr. Teresa Tam recently stated that the number of people experiencing severe illness due to COVID-19 is increasing. In addition, influenza and respiratory infections typically increase during the fall and winter, placing increased demands on hospitals. This is why it is so important for people of all ages to maintain public health practises that keep respiratory infection rates low.

Support for Businesses

• Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced that as of Oct. 26, 2020, the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) will be available to businesses that have been operating out of a non-business banking account with a deadline of Dec.31, 2020.
   
• Last week, Prime Minister Trudeau issued a statement recognizing Small Business Week, stating that “In the last year, small businesses have faced this pandemic with incredible resilience, innovation, and a recognition that we must all prioritize our health and safety to fight COVID-19. They have made sacrifices to help our communities and have faced these challenges with a spirit of creativity and ingenuity.”

Provincial

• On October 26, the Premier stated the provincial government has spent $30B since the beginning of the year to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds are being used for a wide range of programs including supporting frontline health care workers; increasing hospital bed capacity; opening schools; helping Ontario businesses, families and workers; protecting seniors; banning commercial evictions.
   
• The Ontario government will release its 2020 Budget on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020. It will focus on protecting the health and safety of the people during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing much-needed supports to families, workers, and employers, and laying the foundation for future growth, renewal and economic recovery.
   
• On Friday, Oct. 23, the province announced an investment of $8.7 million to support the planning and development of a new Quinte Health Care Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital in Picton. Once the design of the new hospital is completed, the project procurement is expected to begin in 2021
   
• The Ontario government is introducing the Supporting Ontario's Recovery Act, 2020, that if passed, will provide liability protection for workers, volunteers and organizations that make an honest effort to follow public health guidelines and laws relating to exposure to COVID-19. At the same time, it will maintain the right of Ontarians to take legal action against those who willfully, or with gross negligence, endanger others.

Local

• Hastings County has launched a hyper-local marketing campaign, to inspire people to shop locally this holiday season.
   
• Prince Edward County is transitioning planning meetings to a virtual format, in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19.
   
• The County of Prince Edward also announced additional measures in order to continue safely delivering public services during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
   
• Eleven local festivals and events designed for residents and visitors have received $65,000 in funding from the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) to support activities over the fall, winter and spring and ensure they meet COVID-related requirements.
   
• Most local municipalities have shared messages of support to encourage residents to skip traditional trick-or-treating this year.
   
• The North Hastings Community COVID-19 Assessment Centre has a new contact number, 613-332-2825 ext 6224

Public Health

• On October 21, Dr. Oglaza issued a statement encouraging local residents to skip traditional trick-or-treating this year, and choose other ways to celebrate Halloween.
   
• On October 22, HPEPH issued a media release providing recommendations for a safe hunting season during COVID-19.
   
• HPEPH is now offering flu vaccinations by appointment only, for individuals who do not have a health care provider or are under 5 years of age. Please note that as HPEPH's supply of vaccine is impacted by provincial distribution protocols, clinics may be postponed. We are encouraging individuals to seek vaccination through their health care provider or at a pharmacy if possible.
   
• An updated Daycare FAQ document has been posted to the COVID-19 Resources for Child Care Providers page.
   
• HPEPH is continuing a social media campaign to encourage ongoing compliance with COVID-19 public health measures.

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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