For Municipal Partners

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Municipal Partners

May 18, 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 1,071 cumulative lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 55 active, 1,006 resolved and 10 deceased. There were 5 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: 426
• 7 day case rate - 26.1 per 100,000                ~ Positivity Rate - 1.4%
• Vaccines administered to date:  74,800          ~ Fully vaccinated individuals to date:  6,026

• Ontario is reporting 1,616 cases and 17 new deaths as 22,900 tests are completed. There are 472 new cases in Toronto, 360 in Peel, 116 in York Region, and 102 in Durham.

• In Canada, as at May 17, 2021, there are 1,334,104 total cases of COVID-19 with 67,639 active cases and 1,241,482 recovered. To date, there have been 24,983 COVID-19 related deaths and more than 33,592,273 individuals tested.

Summary of cases of COVID-19: Ontario, January 15, 2020 to May 17, 2021

Summary of Cases in Ontario Schools - Updated April 27, 2021.

Schools are not being reported during the current period of remote learning.  Reporting will resume after in-person learning resumes.

Local Updates

Upcoming Vaccincation Clinics - 18+ years of age (starting May 18)

Loyalist College - Belleville - 9 am to 4 pm 

• Wednesday, May 19
• Thursday, May 20
• Friday, May 21
• Tuesday, May 25

Madoc Township Hall - Eldorado - 10 am to 4 pm 

• Wednesday, June 9

Duncan McDonald Memorial Community Centre - Trenton - 9 am to 4 pm

• Wednesday, May 19
• Thursday, May 20
• Friday, May 21
• Tuesday, May 25

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

• Thursday, May 20
• Tuesday, May 25

Bancroft Legion - Bancroft - 10 am - 3 pm

• Friday, May 21
• Tuesday, May 25

Provincial

Ontario carrying out more inspections in workplaces in hot-spot regions

• With more contagious variants of COVID-19 continuing to enter the country, the Ontario government is further supporting businesses and workers by expanding inspections of manufacturing and food processing workplaces, warehouses and distribution centres. Approximately 100 provincial offences officers are expected to visit about 1,500 workplaces in Toronto, Hamilton and regions of Durham, Halton, Peel and York between May 10 and May 28 to uphold the encouraging results previous inspections have delivered.

Ontario Helping Underprivileged Youth Start Promising Jobs in Construction

• The Ontario government is investing almost $2 million in a project that will offer 150 underprivileged youth paid training and work experience for in-demand construction jobs in Ottawa, Hamilton and the Greater Toronto Area. This paid 10-week pre-apprenticeship program, led by Brook Restoration Ltd, is offered to youth in disadvantaged communities, ages 18 to 29, including those experiencing homelessness and living in community housing.
• The project includes two weeks of in-house classroom learning at the company’s head office in Etobicoke, as well as eight weeks of on-the-job training with Brook Restoration Ltd. and several local businesses in Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa. Participants will be paid up to $3,000 during the training and those who successfully complete the program will be offered jobs by Brook Restoration Ltd.

COVID-10 Vaccine Booking Expanding to Ontarians 18+ Ahead of Schedule

• As of 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, individuals aged 18 and over in 2021 across Ontario will be eligible to book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment through the provincial booking system and call centre, or directly through public health units that use their own booking system. On May 3, 2021, the government expanded booking eligibility to those 18 and over in 2021 and who live in one of the 114 hot spot communities.
• Individuals who are 17 years old and are turning 18 in 2021 will also be eligible to book their COVID-19 vaccination appointment only for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine is currently the only COVID-19 vaccine that has been authorized by Health Canada for use in youth aged 12 and over. The provincial booking system will note which clinics are not offering vaccines for those who are 17 years old.

Ontario adding 2,000 nurses to the health care system

• The Ontario government is investing $35 million to increase enrollment in nursing education programs in publicly-assisted colleges and universities across the province. The new spaces will be available for Fall 2021 and Winter 2022 cohorts and will introduce approximately 1,130 new practical nurses and 870 registered nurses into the health care system.
• In addition to expanding enrollment to support the increase in nursing supply for all sectors of our health system, including home and community care and acute care, this investment will also support the expansion of clinical education placements for nursing students and personal support worker students in the long-term care sector.

Ontario Extending Stay-At-Home Order to June 2

• With the new, more contagious variants continuing to pose significant risks, the Ontario government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, has extended the Stay-at-Home Order (O. Reg. 265/21) until at least June 2, 2021. All public health and workplace safety measures under the provincewide emergency brake will also remain in effect. During this time, the government will prepare to administer the Pfizer vaccine to youth between the ages of 12 and 17, beginning the week May 31, 2021, as the province also finalizes plans to gradually and safely re-open the province.
• In addition, all publicly funded and private elementary and secondary schools in the province will continue to operate under teacher-led remote learning. Data is to be assessed on an ongoing basis and medical experts, including the Chief Medical Officer of Health, and other health officials will be consulted to determine if it may be safe to resume in-person learning.
• Beginning the week of May 31, youth in Ontario between 12 and 17 years of age and their family members who have not received a vaccine will be eligible to book an appointment to receive their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, including at special dedicated youth and family clinics throughout the weeks of June 14 and 21.

Ontario Provincial Booking System for COVID-19 Vaccines Information

• To make an appointment visit Ontario.ca/bookvaccine.
• For individuals who do not have internet access, they can call the Provincial Booking Line at
  1-833-943-3900, open Monday to Sunday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• When booking an appointment, individuals will be asked for information from their green Ontario health card, birth date, postal code and email address and/or phone number. At the time of booking, eligible individuals will schedule their first and second vaccination appointments.
• Individuals who still have a red and white health card, or who require assistance with booking, can call the Provincial Vaccine Information Line number at 1-888-999-6488.

Federal

Nothing of note to report.

HPEPH

Media Releases:

• Potential low-risk COVID-19 exposure at Picton Tim Horton's 

• HPEPH reminds individuals that weekend travel and visits to seasonal residences puts everyone at increased risk of COVID-19

• Public Health Order will Help Protect Agricultural Workers from COVID-19

• Potential Low-Risk COVID-19 Exposure at Trenton McDonalds (Dundas Street)

Useful Links

• HPEPH COVID-19 General Information
• HPEPH COVID-19 Information for Health Care Providers
• How Ontario is responding to COVID-19
• Public Health Ontario Coronavirus Disease
• Canada Coronavirus disease

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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