For Municipal Partners

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Municipal Partners

December 14, 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 2,064 cumulative lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 231 active, 1,817 resolved and 16 deceased. There were 26 new cases reported today.
    • There are no local retirement facilities experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak; additional outbreak details can be found online.
    • More information is available on our website hpePublicHealth.ca
  • 7 day case rate: 118.6 per 100,000
  • Positivity Rate: 3.9%
  • Vaccinations among residents 5 and older:
    • First Dose: 139,655 (85%)
    • Fully Vaccinated: 129,119 (78%)
  • Ontario is reporting 1,429 new cases and five deaths today. 385 people are hospitalized with COVID-19. 300 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status and 85 are fully vaccinated.

  • In Canada, as of December 13, 2021, there are 1,840,919 total cases of COVID-19 with 36,844 active cases and 1,774,134 recovered. To date, there have been 29,941 COVID-19 related deaths and more than 50,147,977 individuals tested.

Summary of cases of COVID-19: Ontario, January 15, 2020 to December 13, 2021

Report

Number

Percentage

Number of Cases

635,112

N/A

Change from previous day’s report (new cases)

1,429

0.1% increase

Resolved

612,996

97.8

Change from previous report

930

0.1% increase

Total number of deaths

10,084

1.6

Total tests completed

20,281,147

N/A

Total test completed in the previous day

33,400

N/A

Currently under investigation

22,855

N/A

Summary of Cases in Ontario Schools - December 14, 2021

Report

Number of New Cases

Cumulative Cases

School-related cases

550

10,093

School-related student cases

473

8,947

School-related staff cases

61

979

Individual(s) not identified (other staff)

16

167

Current number of schools with a reported case

1,019

N/A

Current number of schools closed

28

N/A

Local Updates

Public Health Bulletin Schedule Update

There will be no Public Health Bulletin on Tuesday, December 28. Regular updates will resume in the New Year. HPEPH wishes all municipal partners a safe and happy holiday season!

Stay informed by viewing the HPEPH COVID-19 Dashboard, which is updated daily Monday - Friday. (Please note, the dashboard will not be updated on the following dates: Dec 27, Dec 28 and Jan 3).

 

Upcoming Vaccination Clinics

 

  • Appointments are available for children aged 5 to 11 through the provincial booking site or by calling the provincial contact centre at 1-833-943-3900. Clinic locations include:
    • Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre in Belleville
    • Prince Edward Community Centre in Picton
    • St. Paul Catholic Secondary School in Trenton (Jan 4)
    • Central Hastings School in Madoc (Jan 6)
  • Appointments for individuals born in 2009 and earlier, including first, second and third/booster doses are in high demand in HPE. Appointments are being added regularly to the provincial booking site. Please check back regularly for appointments, and follow HPEPH on Facebook or Twitter to be notified when new appointments become available.
  • Eligible individuals may also book appointments for COVID-19 vaccination through local pharmacies.

Please note, new clinic dates and times are updated regularly. Please view the HPEPH Booking and Eligibility Page for the latest information.

Provincial

Ontario Taking Further Action to Protect Long-Term Care and Retirement Homes

  • Effective immediately, all general visitors to a long-term care home will need to be fully vaccinated to enter. In addition, the ministry will be directing all long-term care homes to increase infection prevention and control (IPAC) audits.
  • Additionally, new measures at long-term care homes will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, December 17, 2021.

Ontario Extending Pause on Lifting Capacity Limits in Remaining Settings Where Proof of Vaccination is Required

  • Settings include:
    • food or drink establishments with dance facilities such as night clubs and wedding receptions in meeting/event spaces where there is dancing;
    • strip clubs; and
    • sex clubs and bathhouses.

Ontario Accelerating Booster Eligibility to Adults Aged 50+

  • Starting on Monday, December 13, 2021 at 8:00 a.m., individuals aged 50 and over became eligible to schedule their booster dose.

Ontario Extending COVID-19 Paid Sick Days

  • The Ontario government is extending its Worker Income Protection Benefit program, which provides paid sick days, until July 31, 2022

Ontario Investing in Protections for Residents and Staff in Congregate Care Settings

  • The Ontario government is investing $8.9 million to further protect residents and staff in congregate care settings from COVID-19.
  • The funding will be used to provide personal protective equipment, rapid antigen testing, enhanced infection prevention and control measures, and HEPA filters to improve ventilation in residences for adults with developmental disabilities, residences for children in care or with special needs, emergency shelters for women and families fleeing domestic violence and youth justice facilities.

Ontario Taking Action to Protect Against Omicron Variant

  • Measures include:
    • Enhancing Proof of Vaccination Requirements;
    • Strengthening the verification of medical or clinical trial exemptions;
    • Providing Additional Layers of Protection against COVID-19 and Variants and
    • Strengthening Public Health and Workplace Safety Measures.
  • The full suite of measures is outlined in the backgrounder.

 

Federal

 

Government of Canada will require employees in all federally regulated workplaces to be vaccinated against COVID-19

 

  • the Government of Canada will propose regulations under Part II of the Canada Labour Code to make vaccination mandatory in federally regulated workplaces.
  • The Government will consult with key stakeholders, including representatives of small and medium-sized employers, as it works expeditiously to finalize the new regulations, which would come into force in early 2022.

 

Government of Canada introduces additional measures to address COVID-19 Omicron variant of concern

  • Based on data from ongoing surveillance efforts and the latest public health advice, the Government of Canada expanded the list of countries with entry prohibitions originally announced on November 26, 2021, to include Egypt, Nigeria and Malawi.

Health researchers across Canada launch projects to mitigate impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on children, youth and families

  • The Government of Canada is investing $13.7 million in 89 new COVID-19 research projects across the country. This includes 70 projects focused on understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children, youth and families. It also includes 19 projects focused on promoting vaccine confidence and encouraging vaccination, particularly among groups with low vaccination rates. Together, these projects will provide evidence to help governments, communities, and health care providers continue to manage the pandemic.

Annual Report - The Chief Public Health Officer of Canada’s 2021 Report on the State of Public Health in Canada: ‘ A Vision to Transform Canada’s Public Health System

  • Drawing on lessons learned from the pandemic and dialogues with public health leaders from across the country, this year’s report identifies strategic opportunities and proposes a series of concrete actions to better prepare for the next health emergency and to help all people in Canada achieve better health.

HPEPH

Useful Links

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

613-966-5500

hpePublicHealth.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.