For Municipal Partners

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Municipal Partners

June 15, 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 1,126 cumulative lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 5 active, 1,110 resolved and 11 deceased. There were no 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: 493
• 7 day case rate: 3 per 100,000                         ~ Positivity Rate: 0.5%
• Vaccines administered to date:  127,935          ~ Fully vaccinated individuals to date:  20,762

Vaccinations by Client Location - Dose 1 (as at June 15, 2021)

• Ontario is reporting 296 cases and 13 deaths as nearly 17,200 tests were completed. There are 62 new cases in Peel, 60 in Toronto, 45 in Waterloo, 15 in York Region and 13 in Halton.

• In Canada, as at June 14, 2021, there are 1,403,285 total cases of COVID-19 with 15,954 active cases and 1,361,387 recovered. To date, there have been 25,944 COVID-19 related deaths and more than 35,785,462 individuals tested.

Summary of cases of COVID-19: Ontario, January 15, 2020 to June 14, 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 Vaccination Clinics - 12+ years of age

Loyalist College - Belleville - 9 am to 4 pm 

• Wednesday, June 16

Quinte Sports & Wellness Centre - Belleville - 9 am to 4 pm

• Wednesday, June 16
• Monday, June 21
• Tuesday, June 22
• Wednesday, June 23

Madoc Township Hall - Eldorado - 10 am to 4 pm 

• Wednesday, June 23

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

• Thursday, June 17
• Monday, June 21
• Tuesday June 22
• Wednesday, June 23

Bancroft Legion - Bancroft - 10 am - 3 pm

• Thursday, June 17
• Friday, June 18
• Tuesday, June 22

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

• Thursday, June 17

Provincial

Overview of Trends and Cases

• Yesterday, Dr. Williams said “the situation in Ontario is one of optimism…our numbers continue to move in the right direction.…our case counts are dropping down. We may see in the next day or so numbers below 400.”
• Since last Thursday, Ontario has reported an additional 2,053 cases of new COVID-19 infections, including 574 people on Friday, 502 people on Saturday, 530 on Sunday, and 447 yesterday.
• Ontario’s current seven-day average is 503 cases per day, which is down from 735 last week and 1,078 two weeks ago.
• The provincial cases rate decreased to 29 cases per 100,000 people.
• The Rt is currently below 1 at 0.72.
• Sadly, an additional 30 people have died since last Thursday. This includes 4 COVID-19-related deaths yesterday, bringing the seven-day average to 13, which is down slightly from 16 last week.
• Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Yaffe said “the number of hospitalizations and ICU patients continues to show steady improvement,” with about 430 people in hospitals with COVID-19, although this is not an exact as several hospitals did not report over the weekend. The average length of stay in hospital has gone up to 29.1 days.
• There are also 409 patients in ICUs, some of these are transfers from Manitoba; the number of Ontarians in ICUs is below 400.
• The current seven-day average for percent positivity is 2.3%, which is down from 3.1% last week.

Ontario Releases Plan for Safe Return to Sport

• Ontario has released a framework for select Ontario professional and elite-amateur sport leagues and events that outlines the minimum requirements that must be met for a safe return to play.
• A small number of professional and elite-amateur sport leagues and events will be able to return to play under stringent public health and safety protocols developed in consultation with the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health. This is in advance of the broader return to play for amateur and recreational sport that will be enabled through the Roadmap to Reopen, which will allow sport and recreation to resume in incremental steps throughout summer.
• Key elements of the framework include: private COVID-19 screening and testing, assigned cohorts with limited or no interaction between different cohorts; practice, training and competition protocols; accommodation and travel/transportation services protocols; and individual control measures when not training or competing such as physical distancing and the use of face coverings.

Ontario Accelerates Second Doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine

• The Ontario government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health and other health experts, including the Ontario Science Advisory Table, is further accelerating the second dose interval for individuals who received their first dose of an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to eight weeks, with informed consent, from 12 weeks.
• With informed consent, individuals can choose between a second dose of AstraZeneca or an mRNA vaccine, at an eight to 12-week interval, recognizing that while waiting 12 weeks helps to ultimately provide more protection, some may choose to receive their second dose sooner to have the increased protection provided by a second dose earlier. All of these options provide protection against COVID-19, including the Delta variant, and have been deemed safe.
• As of Monday, June 14, 2021, Individuals who received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine are eligible to book their second dose appointment at an interval of eight weeks or more with informed consent.

Ontario Ramping Up Delivery of Rapid Test Kits

• Ontario has now delivered 12.3 million rapid antigen test kits for COVID-19 to over 2,600 work sites across the province. The effort is helping businesses and other organizations keep employees and their families safe by helping keep the virus out of their workplaces.
• Businesses are encouraged to get their own rapid antigen screening kits by contacting their local chamber of commerce or by registering at ontario.ca/testingonsite.
• Rapid antigen screening goes hand in hand with public health measures, such as symptom screening, physical distancing, masking and hand hygiene. Any positive results from a rapid antigen point-of-care test must be confirmed with laboratory-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing.

Ontario Resumes In-Vehicle Passenger Road Testing Provincewide

• Ontario has resumed in-vehicle passenger road tests as of Monday, June 14, 2021, at DriveTest centres across the province. To address the backlog of road tests resulting from COVID-19 restrictions, road testing capacity will be increased by hiring 167 additional driver examiners while introducing extended hours for in-vehicle passenger road tests (class G1/G2).

Ontario Further Accelerates Second Doses in Delta Hot Spots

• Ontario has further expanded eligibility for accelerated second doses in Delta hot spots to ensure a strong level of protection against COVID-19 and variants.
• Administration of accelerated second doses to individuals aged 80 and over began on May 31, and expanded ahead of schedule on June 4 to individuals aged 70 and over as well as to individuals who received their first dose of an mRNA vaccine on or before April 18, 2021. This acceleration includes more than 151,000 individuals aged 18 to 49 in hot spot communities who were eligible to receive the vaccine at mobile and pop-up clinics beginning in early to mid-April. In addition, this includes more than 706,000 individuals aged 50 and over in hot spots who became eligible to book a first dose on April 9 through the provincial booking system.
• Beginning June 14, individuals who live in Delta hot spots in Halton, Peel, Porcupine, Toronto, Waterloo, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph and York public health units and also received their first dose of an mRNA vaccine on or before May 9, 2021 are eligible to book their accelerated second dose appointment.

Ontario Extending Temporary Wage Increase for Personal Support Workers

• Ontario is investing $141M to extend the temporary wage increase for personal support workers and direct support workers in publicly funded home and community care, long-term care, public hospitals, and social services sectors. This temporary wage increase will continue until August 23, 2021, and will help stabilize, attract and retain the workforce needed to provide a high level of care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Federal

Government of Canada Launches Ask the Experts Campaign

• Across Canada, more and more people are getting vaccinated. To build on this momentum, the Government of Canada has launched Ask the Experts advertising campaign.
• This campaign features short videos by trusted experts answering some of the most common questions people have about the COVID-19 vaccines. These videos will encourage vaccine uptake by providing people across Canada with credible COVID-19 vaccine information so they can make informed choices.
• These experts are answering some common questions that Canadians have. To make sure that Canadians have the information they need to make informed decisions about their health, we've created the Ask the Experts campaign so you can hear directly from healthcare professionals and other experts about what vaccination means and does.

National Overview of Trends and Cases

• Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Tam indicated that the latest national-level data show a continued downward trend in disease activity with an average of 1,548 cases reported daily during the latest 7-day period (June 4th-10th); down 34% compared to the week prior.
• For the week of May 30th to June 5th, there were on average 72,692 tests completed daily across Canada, of which 2.8% were positive for COVID-19, compared to 3.8% the week prior.
• An average of 1,839 people with COVID-19 were being treated in Canadian hospitals each day during the most recent 7-day period, which is 21% fewer than last week. This includes, on average 795 people who were being treated in ICUs, 21% fewer than last week.
• While the average number of daily deaths continues to decline, showing a 7% decrease compared to the week prior, sadly 31 deaths are being reported daily.

First Phase of Adjustments to Border Measures

• Health Minister Hajdu indicated the federal government is considering removing hotel quarantine requirements for permitted travellers who have been fully vaccinated for 14-days or more prior to their arrival
• Travellers would still be required to have a negative pre-departure PCR test result and be tested upon arrival, with a suitable quarantine plan while awaiting arrival test results
• Minister Hajdu confirmed travellers would need to be fully vaccinated with one of the four Health Canada approved vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca or Johnson and Johnson) to skip the hotel quarantine
• Intergovernmental Minister LeBlanc said these changes will only be made if case counts in Canada continue to drop and the vaccination campaign continues to go well
• He said any other changes, in the context of the next phases, would be based on Canadian data and the situation worldwide, and will be done in consultation with the provinces and territories
• Dr. Tam reiterated that Canada needs to reach certain vaccination thresholds before there's any discussion about reopening borders. (i.e. 75% with a first dose and 20% with a second dose)

Travel Restrictions, Border and Quarantine Measures

• Asked about the potential for easing restrictions at the Canadian border, Prime Minister Trudeau explained that “the steps that will be taken to ease border measures at the right time will be science-based and will be based on the fact that when people have [gotten] both doses of the vaccine, they are more highly protected and less at risk of transmitting COVID-19 and finding themselves in our health-care system.”
• The Prime Minister confirmed that any relaxation around hotel quarantine requirements would only be for travellers who are fully vaccinated.
• The Prime Minister did not confirm reports that suggested the gradual reopening of the border would begin on June 22nd. He said, “we have no announcements to make today. The 21st of every month is the date on which the measures we’ve had for many months between Canada and the United States get rolled over, or not.”

HPEPH

Media Releases:

• Individuals eligible for second dose of mRNA vaccine encouraged to take advantage of earliest opportunity to get fully vaccinated
• Residents asked to maintain precautions and make responsible choices as we enter Step One of Ontario’s Roadmap to Reopen
• Weekly Vaccine Update (June 9 Update)
• Individuals eligible for accelerated 2nd dose invited to register on HPEPH’s COVID-19 vaccination standby list today!

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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