For Municipal Partners

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Municipal Partners

June 16, 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 and Prince Edward Counties continue to have 43 cumulative lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 33 having recovered and 5 deceased. There are 182 probable cases, with 178 having recovered.
    • There are no local 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 99,147 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 resulting in 8,175 deaths. To date, over 2,183,476 individuals have been tested.

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

Severity

Number

Percentage

Number of cases

32,554

N/A

Change from previous report (new cases)

184

0.6 increase

Resolved

27,431

84.3

Change from previous report

218

0.8 increase

Subset of all cases that are reported to be long-term care residents

5,357

16.5

Subset of all cases that are reported as a health care worker associated with long-term care outbreaks

2,060

6.3

Total number of deaths

2,538

7.8

Deaths reported for residents in long-term care homes

1,632

64.3

Deaths reported for health care workers in long-term care homes

6

0.2

Total tests completed

Total tests completed in the previous day

Currently under investigation

1,047,224

21,724

17,920

 

 

Federal

Possible extension of Canadian Emergency Relief Benefit (CERB)

  • Prime Minister Trudeau announced yesterday that they're "working on a solution to extend the benefit for people who can't return to work yet" and promised that he will have more details to share later this week.

Surplus Food Rescue Program

  • The Prime Minister announced this new program which will help get food products that farmers and fishers can't sell (like potatoes, poultry, sea foods) to communities that need them, including northern territories.
  • Farmers will get to sell their food, and food will reach the plates of those who need it.
  • Applications for this program opened today.

Canada's Global Contributions

  • The Prime Minister announced that in response to the United Nation's request, Canada agreed to air-lift medical and humanitarian supplies urgently needed to help those that are vulnerable in different parts of the world.
  • As one of thirteen founding members, Canada has helped to launch the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence and worked with the Quebec government to set up a centre of expertise in Montreal, one of the partnership's two global hubs.

Provincial

Moving More Regions into Stage 2 on Friday

  • Based on public health advice, Premier Ford announced that the following public health regions are now permitted to move into Stage 2 starting this Friday, June 19:
    • Durham Region Health Department
    • Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit
    • Halton Region Health Department
    • Hamilton Public Health Services
    • Lambton Health Unit
    • Niagara Region Public Health Department
    • York Region Public Health Services
  • These regions are in addition to the 24 public health regions that entered Stage 2 on June 12.
  • Before opening, business owners will need to review the workplace safety guidelines and follow public health advice.
  • The following regions will remain under Stage 1:
    • Peel Public Health
    • Toronto Public Health
    • Windsor-Essex County Health Unit
  • The Premier indicated that it would be ideal to open these last three regions by June 26, but warned that it would depend on case numbers; he asked people living in these three regions to be patient.

Collecting Race, Income, Language and Household Based COVID-19 Data

  • In response to requests by community leaders and public health experts, the Ontario government is proposing a regulatory change to make mandatory the reporting of data on race, income, language and household size for individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19.
  • Individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 infection will be asked additional questions about their race, income, languages spoken, and household size.
  • Individuals can choose not to answer any or all of these questions and their privacy will be protected as it is for all information collected on other diseases.
  • To help implement this data collection, the province is engaging with health equity stakeholders and experts, including the Ontario Anti-Racism Directorate and Indigenous partners.
  • Anonymized data will be made available to recognized researchers through the Ontario Health Data Platform with the protection of individuals' privacy being made a priority.
  • Recognizing that some Ontarians, including racialized individuals and those with lower incomes, may be at greater risk of COVID-19 infection, Minister Elliott noted, "collecting this data will help guide decisions as work continues to stop the spread of the virus and protect some of our most vulnerable people."

Helping Local Business to Test and Certify Medical-Grade PPE

  • Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Minister Fedeli announced that Ontario is providing $526,200 to CSA Group Testing & Certification Inc. from the Ontario Together Fund to increase the capacity for testing and certifying personal protective equipment (PPE).
  • CSA Group Testing & Certification Inc., a subsidiary of the Canadian Standards Association, tests, inspects and certifies products to ensure they are in compliance with safety, environmental and operating performance standards.
  • There is currently no domestic provider of comprehensive testing and certification for medical grade PPE.

Expanding Services for Young Victims of Sex Trafficking

  • The Ontario Government is investing up to $46 million over the next five years to increase community-based and Indigenous-specific supports for child and youth victims of sex trafficking.
  • Funding will be available to partners and agencies and focus on areas such as:
    • Trauma-informed programming developed and delivered by survivor-led organizations.
    • Dedicated services for victims under age 18, including residential placements and treatment, peer mentoring, as well as education and employment training programs.
    • Culturally-appropriate, Indigenous-designed supports for First Nations, Inuit and Métis victims, families and communities.
    • Targeted supports for sexually exploited boys, individuals with developmental disabilities, LGBTQ2S individuals, and racialized and newcomer populations.
    • Specialized programs for children and youth involved in or transitioning out of child welfare or the youth justice system.

Additional Learning Materials for Students and Teachers

  • The Ontario government, in partnership with Science North and the Ontario Science Centre, is creating additional educational content for students and teachers.
  • The province is providing up to $1.5 million to create made-in-Ontario videos and resources (in both English and French) to support Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) learning which will include:
    • Professional development videos for educators.
    • Virtual and at-home hands-on STEM activities for students.
    • Activities and student worksheets which can be printed and distributed through school boards.

Restrictions Eased on Weddings and Funerals

  • As of last Friday, the Ontario government extended the number of people allowed to attend an indoor wedding or funeral ceremony to a maximum of 30 percent capacity of the ceremony venue.
  • Wedding and funeral ceremonies taking place outdoors will be limited to 50 attendees, while only 10 people can attend an indoor or outdoor wedding or funeral reception.
  • Whether being held indoors or outdoors, those attending must follow proper health and safety advice, including practising physical distancing from people who are not from the same household or their established 10-person social circle.

Local

  • The pandemic has interrupted normal year-end school celebrations like graduations and proms—but that’s not stopping the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board from celebrating students. They’ve distributed 1,200 colourful lawn signs honouring the Class of 2020 watch the video.

  • Prince Edward County has reopened a number of public washrooms. Permanent building washrooms will be open from 9:00 am until 7:00 pm, seven days a week. They will be cleaned twice a day. Portable toilets are also available in several other locations to expand services across the County. They will be equipped with hand sanitizer or portable sinks, and will be cleaned daily. See the release for more information and washroom locations.

  • Beaches in Prince Edward County have reopened following the Stage 2 reopening across the region starting on Friday, June 12. Groups of 10 people or fewer are allowed to congregate on Wellington Beach. The Dunes Beach and Outlet Beach at Sandbanks Provincial Park opened this past Friday. Starting June 22, Ontario Parks will gradually open campgrounds and more facilities and services including providing washrooms, drinking water, and opening trailer sanitation stations.

  • The City of Quinte West is offering an expedited process to allow for temporary patio spaces. Any restaurants that would greatly benefit from an increased patio space can apply now at: https://bit.ly/QWbusi

  • In the City of Belleville, public transit will increase scheduled service to accommodate increased demand as the region reopens more businesses. The service will continue to be a modified, reduced schedule but will now operate a reduced scheduled service for weekends as well as weekdays.

  • The Municipality of Centre Hastings has reopened their Municipal Office at 7 Furnace Street in Madoc. The office is be open from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, Monday-Thursday and 8:30 am to 1:30 pm on Fridays. Residents are encouraged to continue with online and telephone communication with the municipality when possible. 

Public Health

  • On Friday, HPEPH launched a digital guestbook for visitors to our region. Anyone visiting Hastings and Prince Edward Counties is requested toregister on our Digital Guestbook, which is private, confidential, and requires only basic information such as an individual’s name, contact details, and nature of their visit. This additional measure will supplement existing processes in place to conduct contact tracing across health unit boundaries, as well as requirements for certain industries to keep detailed logs of clients or patrons.
  • HPEPH issued a media release yesterday in response to an increase in local rates of gonorrhea. HPEPH is now offering self-serve testing for gonorrhea and chlamydia at all offices for individuals who do not currently have symptoms. Drop in between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday, to pick up a kit. Testing is simple and confidential.
  • Dr. Ethan Toumishey will be hosting the biweekly Facebook live update on Thursday, June 18 at 2:00 pm on the HPEPH Facebook page. The broadcast will feature a local COVID-19 update, responses to frequently asked questions, and the opportunity to address questions live to Dr. Toumishey. To participate in the live event, go to the Hastings Prince Edward Public Health Facebook page, facebook.com/hpepublichealth, at 2:00 pm on Thursday.

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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