For Municipal Partners

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Municipal Partners

February 9, 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 376 cumulative lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 with10 active, 361 resolved and 5 deceased. There were 4 new cases reported today.
  • There is 1 local long-term care facility experiencing COVID-19 outbreak; additional outbreak details can be found online.
  • More information is available on our website hpePublicHealth.ca
• Vaccines administered to date:  1,096
• Ontario is reporting 1,022 cases of COVID-19 and 36 deaths as more than 30,800 tests have been completed. There are 343 new cases in Toronto, 250 in Peel, and 128 in York Region.
• In Canada, as at February 8, 2021, there are 808,120 total cases of COVID-19 with 40,175 active cases and 747,110 recovered. To date, there have been 20,835 COVID-19 related deaths and more than 22,340,714 individuals tested.

Summary of cases of COVID-19: Ontario, January 15, 2020 to February 8, 2021

Summary of Cases in Ontario Schools - Updated February 9, 2021.

Local Updates

• As announced by the province on February 8, Hastings Prince Edward Public Health (HPEPH) will be moving back to Green-Prevent level of the provincial reopening Framework on Wednesday, February 10, 2021 at 12:01 a.m.

  The ongoing perseverance and efforts of local residents and businesses have been critical to lower rates of COVID-19 in the region. However, COVID-19 rates remain high in other regions of Ontario and emerging variants pose an ongoing risk. In order to provide enhanced protection to the local community as the region returns to the Green-Prevent Zone, Dr. Piotr Oglaza, Medical Officer of Health and CEO at HPEPH, is implementing additional precautions to supplement provincial Green Zone restrictions.  See our media release for more information.  

  • As rates of COVID-19 remain stable in our region, HPEC will be reopening at the green level of the province’s COVID-19 response framework.
• In order to maintain our progress, all residents are asked to remain thoughtful about daily choices and actions to prevent the spread of illness.
  • While small gatherings, limited to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors, are permitted while HPEC is in green, continue to limit close contacts to those within your household by physically distancing with all others, and wearing a mask when physical distancing is not possible.
  • Avoid hosting guests from other regions, in particular regions where a stay at home order is in effect.
  • Stay home when ill, and get tested if you have symptoms (even if mild).
  • Wash your hands often, and clean frequently touched surfaces
  • Download the COVID-19 app.
• City of Belleville:
  • City Hall will be open by appointment for the next few days and will be fully open to the public in a physically-distanced manner on Tuesday, February 16.
  • The Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre will return to operations, with ice available for rentals and the Belleville Swim Team being able to come back together in a safe manner starting February 16 as well.
    • Staff will also reach out to other user groups, including recreational swimmers, advanced aquatic course participants, aquafit, pickleball and table tennis players ahead of their restart the week of February 22, with registration for those programs beginning February 16.
• Quinte West: Mayor Jim Harrison says he’s pleased to see the greater Quinte Region back in the green zone. “I thank everyone profusely for the job that you’ve done, steadily and consistently. You’ve followed policies and tried to make things work, but let’s do our best to keep where we’re at, keep our numbers down and we’ll consistently be able to move ahead.”
• Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory: Yesterday evening, the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte COVID-19 Response Team was notified of one confirmed positive COVID-19 test on the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. The individual is self-isolating and is being monitored by the Community Health Nurse In Charge. Contact tracing is underway to ensure that any potential risk to the community is determined.
• CAC Holiday Hours: The Prince Edward County COVID-19 Assessment Centre will be closed on Family Day (Monday, Feb 15). Our COVID-19 testing information web page has been updated.

Provincial

Ontario Helping Keep Seniors Safe and Connected During COVID-19:

• The provincial government is investing $4.5M through the Seniors Community Grant Program to support over 180 diverse community projects. This year's funding focuses on helping older adults stay connected with their communities while self-isolating from the safety of their home during the COVID-19 outbreak.
• The funding will help non-profit organizations, local services boards and Indigenous groups develop programs by:
  • Helping older men and women receive the support they need in their community, reducing demand on acute and long-term care
  • Ensuring older adults are less at risk for neglect, abuse and fraud, and that their rights and dignity are protected
  • Making sure more seniors are connected and engaged and not as socially isolated
  • Providing more opportunities for older adults to achieve greater financial security

Emergence of COVID-19 Variants:

• On February 7, Toronto Public Health (TPH) reported that a Toronto resident tested positive for the P.1 COVID-19 mutation, known as the Brazilian variant of concern. The individual, who is hospitalized, recently travelled from Brazil. This is the first case of P.1 COVID-19 variant of concern reported in Ontario. TPH also reported the city's first case of the South African variant, known as B.1.351, in a Toronto resident with no recent travel history and no known contact with anyone who is a returned traveller. TPH is investigating a total of 27 confirmed variant of concern cases as of Saturday.
• York Region’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kurji indicated to the media that his region has found 55 cases caused by the variant identified in the U.K as well as some unique characteristics "between multiple households the incubation period is as short as 12 hours to two days…because most people get [COVID-19] symptoms in about five to seven days."
• As of this morning (Feb. 7), there have been a total of 219 cases of the U.K. variant, also known as B.1.1.7, found in Ontario.

Applications Open for Ontario's New Skills Development Fund:

• Applications are now open for the Ontario government's new two-year $115M Skills Development Fund. The fund, which will support workers and apprentices, is specifically designed to address the challenges brought on by COVID-19 and help reduce obstacles to hiring, training and retaining while preparing workers for the province's economic recovery.
• Applicants, including employers, apprenticeship training delivery agents, unions, post-secondary institutions, community organizations and others can now submit proposals beginning February 5, until February 28, 2021.

Federal

Government to Canada to Require Negative COVID-19 Test for those Entering Canada at Land Borders:

• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says starting next week, anyone arriving in Canada by land will also need to show a recent negative COVID-19 test.
• Trudeau says the new measure will kick in Feb. 15, the latest move to keep COVID-19 from spreading within Canada from people who travelled outside it.
• The government began requiring all people arriving in Canada by air to show a negative PCR-based COVID-19 test in early January.
• Trudeau said the federal government cannot prevent Canadians from returning to the country at a land border, even without a test, but if they don't have the required test they can be fined up to $3,000.

Health Canada issues label change authorization for Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine:

• Today, Health Canada issued a label change authorization to Pfizer-BioNTech to reflect that each vial of its COVID-19 vaccine contains six doses, rather than five. This follows an independent and thorough scientific review of a submission received from Pfizer-BioNTech on January 22, 2021. In its review, Health Canada determined that six full doses can be consistently obtained from vials with the use of low dead-volume syringes.
• Health Canada had previously acknowledged that with the right technique and syringe it is possible to obtain a sixth dose from the vial. Health Canada and other international regulators require vaccine vials to include a certain amount of overfill to ensure there is sufficient vaccine in each vial to yield the expected doses. Health Canada has determined that there will still be an acceptable amount of overfill following the label change.
• Dr. Supriya Sharma, the chief medical adviser at Health Canada, says that after a review, the regulatory team agrees with the companies that each vial of their vaccine contains six doses, rather than five.
• Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the military commander overseeing Ottawa's vaccine distribution program, says next week Canada will get the same number of vials it was expecting, but instead of Pfizer saying those 67,275 vials contained about 336,000 doses, they will count them as 400,000 doses.

Other News

• World Health Organization: COVID-19 most likely first appeared in humans after jumping from an animal, a team of international and Chinese scientists looking for the origins of COVID-19 said Tuesday, dismissing an alternate theory that the virus leaked from a lab in China.
• Ontario Vaccination Risk Forum: On Friday, the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) and the Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC) co-hosted a second special Risk Forum for organizations that are facilitating vaccinations across Ontario. The forum provided a brief overview of the current knowns regarding risk and legal topics and an opportunity to share current experiences and collective questions. Presentation slides are now available.
• IPAC Basic Awareness eLearning Program: The Public Services Health & Safety Association has developed new online IPAC Basic Awareness training. This free 30-minute eLearning program provides a high-level overview of infection prevention and control, how infections are spread and steps workers can take to prevent and control the spread of infections. The training is applicable to all sectors and every type of workplace.
• CFB Trenton Repatriation One-Year Anniversary: One year ago (February 8), HPEPH played a vital role supporting the Public Health Agency of Canada in the repatriation of flights of Canadians from Wuhan China to CFB Trenton. With very little notice, HPEPH prepared for the event with other partnering agencies including the Canadian Forces in Trenton, the Canadian Red Cross, Canadian Border Service Agency, Hastings Quinte Emergency Medical Service, and Emergency Medical Assistance Team (EMAT).
• Webinar: Psychosocial Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: A frame of reference from lessons learned through disasters in Canada
  • When: February 17 @ 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST
  • Speakers: Dr. Mélissa Généreux

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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