Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Municipal Partners September 22, 2020 | To ensure everyone has current information during this quickly evolving outbreak, 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. | - Hastings and Prince Edward Counties has 52 cumulative lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19, for a total of 0 active cases, with 47 having recovered and 5 deceased. More than 31,179 tests have been completed to date.
- 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 145,415 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 10,653 active cases. To date, there have been 9,228 deaths and more than 6,698,544 individuals tested.
Summary of cases of COVID-19: Ontario, Jan. 15, 2020 to Sept. 21, 2020 | Severity | Number | Percentage | | Number of Cases | 47,752 | N/A | | Change from previous report (new cases) | 478 | 1.0 increase | | Resolved | 41,342 | 86.6 | | Change from previous report | 196 | 0.5 increase | | Total number of deaths | 2,832 | 5.9 | | Total tests completed | 3,614,544 | N/A | | Total test completed in the previous day | 34,201 | N/A | | Currently under investigation | 39,788 | N/A | | Ontario Launching Largest Flu Immunization Campaign In Province's History - The campaign is part of the province's comprehensive plan to prepare the health system for a second wave of COVID-19. The plan, entitled Keeping Ontarians Safe: Preparing for Future Waves of COVID-19, sets out a series of steps to prevent, identify and respond to any outbreak scenario this fall.
- Given the size and complexity of the Keeping Ontarians Safe plan, the province will release details over the coming days.
- The province is investing almost $70 million to purchase flu vaccines to deliver a robust and expanded campaign this year.
- Ontario has implemented several measures, such as:
- Ordering 5.1 million flu vaccine doses in partnership with the federal government and other provinces and territories, 700,000 more than the approximated usage last year. This includes 1.3 million high-dose vaccine doses for Ontario seniors, especially those with pre-existing health conditions.
- Prioritizing early distribution of the flu vaccine for vulnerable populations in long-term care homes, hospitals and retirement homes.
- Improving access by allocating high-dose flu vaccines for seniors to participating pharmacies.
- Investing an additional $26.5 million to purchase additional flu vaccine doses if required and made available through the national vaccine bulk procurement program.
Province-Wide Limits on Private Social Gatherings - The new limits on the number of people allowed to attend unmonitored private social gatherings in Toronto, Peel and Ottawa announced last week were expanded on Saturday to cover the whole province.
- Unmonitored social gatherings are now limited to10 people at an indoor event or gathering (rather than 50) or 25 people at an outdoor event or gathering (rather than the previous limit of 100).
- Indoor and outdoor events and gatherings cannot be merged together; e.g. 25 people outdoors and 10 indoors are not permitted.
- Unmonitored and private social gatherings include functions, parties, dinners, gatherings, BBQs or wedding receptions held in private residences, backyards, parks and other recreational areas.
Ontario Presses Ottawa for Increased Financial Support - Building on his comments from last Friday, Premier Doug Ford once again urged the federal government to immediately lay out a plan to fund provincial priorities stressing that, "we need Ottawa's support and we need it now."
- Ontario joins other provinces in requesting a federal funding increase from the current 22 percent to 35 percent.
- Key provincial priority areas include strengthening health and long-term care, increasing testing, quarantine enforcement at the border and infrastructure renewal.
COVID-19 Testing by Pharmacists - The provincial government has now amended regulations to allow Ontario pharmacists to administer COVID-19 tests. The premier indicated that testing at pharmacies would be intended for people who aren't showing symptoms of COVID-19; those with symptoms would still go to assessment centres.
Schools COVID-19 Trends - Of yesterday’s 425 new cases, 67 percent of those testing positive were under 40; 75 percent of cases are concentrated in large urban centers (e.g. 175 new cases in Toronto, 84 in Peel Region, 60 in Ottawa and 20 in York Region).
- As of yesterday, 90 individuals in schools have tested positive for COVID-19 (e.g. 33 students, 26 teachers and 31 other school personnel); 75 schools have reported a case and two have closed.
- Dr. Barbara Yaffe indicated that the province is working with Public Health Ontario to assess the screening checklist recently introduced by British Columbia to avoid having students seek COVID-19 testing who are experiencing low probability symptoms (e.g. fatigue, headache, runny nose, sore throat).
| - ALCDSB Director of Education, David DeSantis, shared a letter to families yesterday regarding the updated provincial and HPEPH screening tools and encouraged anyone with additional questions to contact their school’s principal.
- In Prince Edward County, chefs, vintners, brewers and food producers are coming together to present 10 culinary events during the fall Countylicious, which will run from Oct. 30 to Nov. 22.
- In Quinte West, from Sept. 21 until Oct. 30, get a copy of the ‘Love Your Local’ BINGO card by downloading it from quintewest.ca/loveyourlocal, cutting it out of this week’s Trentonian or Community Press newspaper or picking up a copy at Quinte West City Hall. This contest gives participants the opportunity to win more than $1,000 in prizes by exploring businesses and activities within Quinte West
- In Belleville, due to vandalism this past weekend, the washrooms located at Riverside Park West will be closed until further notice.
- The City of Belleville has cancelled Porchfest, scheduled for Sept. 26, due to the provincial change in numbers permitted in open-air gatherings. The Downtown District is working on an alternate outdoor event with interested musicians over multiple days next weekend that would be a combination of music, food, and retail while staying within the new guidelines.
| - Recently, HPEPH has received numerous calls and social media messages from individuals having trouble booking COVID-19 testing with Community Access Centres (CACs). In response, HPEPH staff are encouraging them to stay patient and keep calling to pre-register - as it will save time when they present for testing, and to inform CAC staff when they arrive if they have already pre-registered.
| 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 You have received this email at from Hastings Prince Edward Public Health as a result of a request you have made or due to a service/subscription that you are registered for. While you may discontinue your subscription to this mailing at any time by pressing the unsubscribe button below, this bulletin will be used to provide important updates about COVID-19 in our community. | | | | |
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