For Municipal Partners

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Municipal Partners

April 20, 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 (HPEC) have 33 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 239 probable cases. Fifteen lab-confirmed cases have recovered.
    • Approximately 1,179 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in HPEC, with a 3.2% positivity rate.
    • Hastings Manor continues to be in COVID-19 outbreak.
    • Effective today, the Hallowell House COVID-19 outbreak is over.
    • More details are available on our website hpePublicHealth.ca.
  • In Canada, there are 35,392 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 resulting in 1,611 deaths. To date, at least 549,349 individuals have been tested

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

  Number     Percentage
Number of cases 11,184 N/A
Change from previous report 606 5.7% increase
Resolved 5,515 49.3
Deceased 584 5.2
Demographics    
Male 4,728 42.3
Female 6,354 56.8
19 and under 248 2.2
20-39 2,525 22.6
40-59 3,502 31.3
60-79 2,580 23.1
80 and over 2,312 20.7
Testing    
Total tests completed 164,840 N/A
Total tests completed in the previous day 8,743 N/A
Currently under investigation 3,799 N/A
Hospitalizations    
Number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 802 N/A
Number of patients in ICU with COVID-19 247 N/A
Number of patients in ICU on a ventilator with COVID-19       193

N/A

Note: 102 cases did not specify male or female. Seventeen cases had an unknown age.

  • There are 11,184 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario reported to date in iPHIS. This represents an increase of 606 confirmed cases from the previous report.
    • 42.3% of cases are male, 56.8% are female.
    • 43.7% of cases are 60 years of age and older.
    • Greater Toronto Area public health units account for 58.3% of cases.
    • 12.1% of cases were hospitalized.
  • 584 deaths have been reported (please note there may be a reporting delay for deaths in iPHIS). This is an increase of 106 deaths from Friday's report.
  • 114 outbreaks have been reported in long-term care homes. This is an increase of 8 outbreaks from Friday's report.
  • 249 deaths have been reported among residents/patients in long-term care homes.

Federal

Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)

  • More than $7.5 million payments have been made through the CERB; regular updates are being posted on the government's open data portal.

Medical Equipment and Supplies

  • Bell Canada has donated 1.5 million N95 masks which will be delivered to the frontline workers as quickly as possible and millions of surgical masks that are also to be sent out the provinces this week.
  • Two plane loads of medical supplies arrived this weekend and more are coming. Toronto Stamp company will be shifting from producing rubber stamps to millions of medical face shields over the next two months.

Re-opening of Canada-US Border

  • The Canada-US border, originally planned to open April 20th, will remain closed for at least another month.

Assistance for Quebec

  • The federal government is sending 125 military health care professionals to assist in long-term care homes in Quebec and helping line up the Red Cross and other specialized volunteers registered with Health Canada to help Quebec contain the spread.

Global Cooperation

Finance Minister Morneau participated in recent meetings with G7, G20, IMF, and World Bank meetings where he confirmed Canada's support for a number of measures:

  • The G20 Action Plan - Supporting the Global Economy through the COVID-19 Crisis which includes a coordinated, time-bound suspension of official bilateral debt service payments for the world's poorest and most vulnerable countries.
  • A new $1 billion loan to the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, which funds interest-free loans to low-income countries.
  • Support for the COVID-19 Debt Service Suspension Initiative.

Energy Sector Measures

  • The federal government is undertaking new financial measures to help the energy sector, particularly workers in Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Newfoundland and Labrador get back on the job. This will include spending $1.7 billion to clean up orphan and inactive wells in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and B.C. to maintain 5,200 jobs in Alberta, establishing a $750 million Emission Reduction Fund, with a focus on methane, to create and maintain up to 10,000 jobs through pollution reduction efforts, and expanding credit support for at-risk medium-sized energy companies to maintain operations.

Support for Indigenous Businesses

The Prime Minister announced the federal government would provide the following support:

  • $306.8 million in funding to help small and medium-sized Indigenous businesses and to support Aboriginal Financial Institutions that offers financing to these businesses.
  • The funding allows for short-term, interest-free loans and non-repayable contributions through Aboriginal Financial Institutions, which offer financing and business support services to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis businesses.
  • The National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association and the Métis capital corporations will administer the funding in partnership with Indigenous Services Canada to help some 6,000 Indigenous-owned businesses.

Provincial

Revised COVID-19 Modelling

  • At noon today, the Ontario Ministry of Health share revised modelling and projections for the spread of COVID-19 in Ontario. The enhanced public health measures, including staying home and physically distancing from each other, are working to contain the spread of the virus and flatten the curve. However, the Chief Medical Officer of Health says emergency measures must remain in place to continue reducing the number of cases and deaths.
    • The wave of new community spread cases of COVID-19 in Ontario appears to have peaked.
    • Outbreaks in long-term care and congregate settings continue to be a major concern. Concerted actions are underway to protect vulnerable people in these settings.
    • Ontario is now trending toward a best case scenario rather than a worst case scenario and has significantly improved its standing as compared to March modelling.

Caring For Pets During COVID-19

  • A new fact sheet detailng how to care for pets and other animals during the COVID-19 pandemic has been posted to the Public Health Ontario website in English and French.

Supporting Medical Research

Premier Ford and Minister Romano, Minister of Colleges and Universities announced that the provincial government is:

  • Investing $20 million to advance medical research and develop tools and resources to combat COVID-19 and other infectious diseases through the Ontario COVID-19 Rapid Research Fund.
  • Calling on all of the province's world-class research institutions, postsecondary institutions, and non-profit scientific partners to take action in the development of innovative solutions to track and defeat COVID-19; the application deadline is April 24th.

Protecting Vulnerable People from COVID-19

  • In considering whether the province should take over some long-term care facilities that are not complying with provincial directives, Minister of Long-Term Care Fullerton said that Ontario does not manage these homes but is making sure these at-risk homes are getting the support they need. Dr. Williams explained that local public health is working with the long term care homes and offering help; if needed, local Medical Officers of Health can issue orders requiring compliance.
  • The Ontario government has issued a new temporary emergency order that:
    • Restricts retirement home employees from working in more than one retirement home, long-term care home or health care setting starting April 22, 2020.
    • Permits Local Health Integration Networks to direct home care service provider organizations to reassign frontline staff to areas where they are most needed, including home and community care settings, long-term care homes, supportive housing, retirement homes and hospitals.
    • Provides municipalities and District Social Service Administration Boards with the ability to reassign certain staff to where there is local need during the outbreak (e.g. child care, by-law enforcement, public health services).

Establishing Key Partnerships to Make Home Learning More Accessible

The Ontario government has partnered with Rogers Communications and Apple to help meet the educational needs of students and families during the COVID-19 outbreak.

  • Over 1,200 iPads are being purchased and distributed by Ontario school boards to the homes of families in need; the iPads are pre-equipped with free Rogers LTE wireless data until the end of June and Apple is offering support to teachers and students.
  • Rogers is working with Ontario school boards to provide high-speed, low-cost internet to subsidized tenants and members of housing partners across Ontario and allowing eligible households to sign up for high-speed Internet at $9.99 a month with no overage fees.
  • The Province is accelerated the delivery of broadband internet access and expects it to be in every high school and elementary school in Ontario by September 2020 and September 2021 respectively.

Emergency Child Care to More Frontline Staff

The Ontario government has expanded the list of essential workers eligible to receive emergency child care. The list of those now deemed eligible to receive emergency child care includes the following:

  • Staff working in developmental services, homeless shelters, victim services, violence against women services, anti-human trafficking services and child welfare services (children's aid societies) and in children's residential settings.
  • Additional staff identified by the Ministry of the Solicitor General, including First Nations constables, Fire and Emergency Management staff, select critical staff and contractors in community correctional institutions, Provincial Forensic Pathology staff and other emergency response staff.
  • Power workers and non-municipal water and waste-water employees.
  • Pharmaceutical and medical supplies and device manufacturing workers.
  • Federally employed staff including Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers and Canada Post employees.

Local
  • Today, the Belleville City Council meeting will be held at 1:45 pm. It is Council’s first electronic meeting and is closed to the public and media. All Belleville City Council members will be participating in the meeting electronically. The media and the public will be able to view the proceedings on the City’s YouTube channel.
  • Quinte West’s City Council meeting today, will be conducted electronically and broadcast live at 6:30 p.m. on the City’s YouTube channel here: http://bit.ly/LiveQWCouncil.
  • With families spending more time at home, Belleville Fire is encouraging parents to use this time to teach their children about fire safety - there are numerous online resources available for free to assist parents with this. The online lessons, games and downloadable activities are a great way to keep children busy while teaching them the importance of practising fire safety at home.
  • The YMCA of Central East Ontario –Belleville Branch has offered their facility to serve as an emergency supported isolation centre for residents facing homelessness who require temporary isolation due to lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection, and symptomatic individuals awaiting test results. The YMCA facilities will allow the staff of the Grace Inn Shelter to continue to address the needs of their clientele who are unable to reside at the Church Street location.
  • Hastings County Community and Human Services Department has been working in close partnership with HelpSeeker, a Canadian mobile app that connects individuals with local resources. There are over 200 COVID-19 related services registered on HelpSeeker in Hastings County to date. To participate, go to HelpSeeker.org and add your service for free.
  • The Trenton Food Bank and The Frankford Food Pantry remain open with regular hours. For more information about the Trenton Care & Share Food Bank, visit http://trentonfoodbank.ca, and the Frankford Food Pantry, visit http://bit.ly/34McUZj.
  • Prince Edward County announced on Friday that recreation facilities, including the Crystal Palace, arenas, museums, and town halls, will remain closed to the public until June 15 to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the community. As a popular tourist destination, municipal facilities are often used to host large events and gatherings beginning in late spring and early summer. The municipality will decide in early May whether the closures will extend beyond June 15.
  • Prince Edward County Mayor Steve Ferguson announced Friday that he has established an economic recovery team in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mayor’s Economic Recovery Team will help identify needs, assist in the flow of communication, and better equip the municipality to respond to challenges with programs and activities that leverage support offered at the federal, provincial and regional levels. The Recovery Team will include members of County Council and community members representing a broad range of economic sectors. Membership and further details about the Recovery Team will be announced this week.

Public Health
  • Yesterday evening, HPEPH issued a release supporting proactive testing of residents in local long-term care (LTC) homes that are in outbreak for COVID-19, a process recently implemented in partnership with Hastings County that resulted in confirmation of 3 new cases of COVID-19 at Hastings Manor over the weekend. The step-wise approach ensures local testing resources are used as effectively as possible, by ensuring that individuals who are most at risk for exposure to COVID-19 have prompt access to testing while not overburdening the system’s capacity.

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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