For Municipal Partners

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Municipal Partners

December 16, 2020

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 233 cumulative lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 54 active, 174 resolved and 5 deceased with 1 hospitalization. There were 10 new cases reported today.
  • There are no local long-term care facilities experiencing COVID-19 outbreak; additional outbreak details can be found online.
  • More information is available on our website hpePublicHealth.ca
• Ontario is reporting 2,275 cases of COVID-19 and 20 deaths as nearly 39,600 tests have been completed. There are 711 new cases in Toronto, 586 in Peel, 154 in York Region and 185 in Windsor-Essex County.
   
• In Canada, as at December 14, there are 468,862 total cases of COVID-19 with 75,842 active cases. To date, there have been 13,553 COVID-19 related deaths and more than 12,634,757. individuals tested.

Summary of cases of COVID-19: Ontario, January 15, 2020 to December 14, 2020
 

Summary of Cases in Ontario Schools - Updated December 15, 2020.

Guidance/Directive Updates

• The Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility and Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority released an updated Retirement Home COVID-19 Visiting Policy. A full summary of the changes is now available here.

• The Ontario Ministry of Health has developed a number of educational documents on the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
  • These include the following:
    • About Vaccines,
    • Vaccine Administration,
    • Vaccine Availability and Rollout,
    • Approval Process and Safety,
    • Vaccine Information Sheet and
    • Managing Health Care Workers with Symptoms within 48 Hours of Receiving the Vaccine.

Other News

• Upcoming Public Health Ontario Webinar: The Inequitable Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 at Work: The Occupational Exposure to COVID-19 Risk Tool
  • Thursday, December 17, 2020 - 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Local Updates

• Belleville Mayor Mitch Panciuk provided an update on the COVID-19 pandemic & Holiday gatherings.

• Yesterday, Hastings and Prince Edward District School reported that a person at Queen Elizabeth School has tested positive for COVID-19. No transmission is suspected within the school and it remains open for students and staff. Anyone not contacted by Public Health is considered low-risk and may continue going to school.

• Loyalist College 14-Day Quarantine Plan in Belleville
  • All Loyalist College students (new and returning) who are arriving from outside of Canada and plan to register at either our Belleville or Toronto campuses, are required to complete a 14-day quarantine immediately following arrival into Canada.
  • As Loyalist College was required to sign an Attestation with the Public Health Agency agreeing to take responsibility for the incoming students’ quarantine, the College requires all Loyalist students to arrange and pay for the quarantine at a preselected location in Belleville. Transportation will be arranged for Toronto campus students to return to Toronto after their stay. Students who fail to arrange and pay for the 14 day quarantine will not be able to register on either Loyalist College campus.
• As of Dec. 11, publicly-funded COVID-19 assessment centres are no longer permitted to provide testing for asymptomatic individuals who require a negative COVID-19 test in preparation for an upcoming international flight.
   

• Prince Edward County Mayor Steve Ferguson provided residents with his latest COVID-19 update.

• Hastings County is applying for federal funding for COVID-19 “Safe Isolation Sites.”
  • The County is working with HPE Public Health to identify individuals who have been deemed “high risk” contact and require isolation.
  • They would be offered a chance to take voluntary transfer to the isolation site.
  • The Community and Human Services Committee learned Wednesday the plan is to have two isolation site options.
  • Asymptomatic individuals would use the local hotel system.
  • For symptomatic individuals or those unable to self-support, the isolation centre would be at the former Quinte Secondary School.
• Bancroft to get a Warming Centre
  • Director Erin Rivers told the Hastings County Community and Human Services Committee on Wednesday that the department has applied for $88,000 to support the operation for such a centre.
  • Special provincial funds have been designated for Remote and Rural Homelessness Funds to help these areas address the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak among people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness.
  • The province has announced an additional $2.6 million for this work. In April, Hastings County was successful in receiving $40,000 to secure temporary accommodations for asymptomatic people experiencing homelessness in North Hastings during the pandemic.
• Ontario is giving $725,000 to Hastings and Lennox and Addington counties to provide some social service supports to vulnerable people during the pandemic.
  • MPP Daryl Kramp announced on Wednesday that Hastings County will get $522,300 and Lennox and Addington will get $203,200.
  • The money is part of the $510 million Social Service Relief Fund which is being allocated to municipalities and Indigenous communities to improve shelters and create opportunities for longer-term housing, during the pandemic.
• Belleville Mayor Mitch Panciuk provided an update on the COVID-19 pandemic, about Quinte being in the Yellow zone and avoiding travel.

Provincial

Ontario Helps Municipalities and Indigenous Partners Respond to COVID-19:

• The provincial government is allocating an additional $120M to help municipalities and Indigenous community partners protect the health and safety of vulnerable people during COVID-19. This investment builds upon the second phase of social services relief funding announced this fall and brings the government's total allocation to $510M.
• Municipalities and Indigenous community partners can use the discretionary funding to improve the delivery of critical services, protect homeless shelter staff and residents, renovate and purchase facilities to create longer-term housing solutions, add to rent banks and support plans to prepare for potential future outbreaks and/or emergencies.

Ontario Moving Regions to New Levels with Stronger Public Health Measures:

• Based on the latest data, the following public health regions were moved from their current level in the framework to the following levels effective Monday, December 14, 2020 at 12:01 a.m.:
  • Grey-Lockdown
    • Windsor-Essex County Health Unit; and
    • York Region Public Health.
  • Red-Control
    • Middlesex-London Health Unit;
    • Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit; and
    • Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health.
  • Orange-Restrict
    • Eastern Ontario Health Unit.
  • Yellow-Protect
    • Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit.

Ontario Delivers First COVID-19 Vaccine in the Country:

• Anita Quidangen became the first person in Ontario and Canada to receive the shot. Anita is a personal support worker (PSW) from the Rekai Centre at Sherbourne Place, a long-term care home in Toronto. She has worked tirelessly to care for some of our most vulnerable, both throughout this pandemic and since her first days as a PSW in 1988. Anita has spent years rolling up her sleeves to protect our province, and today, she didn't hesitate to find a new way to do so. She represents the best of the Ontario Spirit.
• Today's milestone officially launches the first phase of our three-phase vaccine implementation plan to keep Ontarians safe and marks the beginning of the long journey to return life back to normal. Over 2,500 health care workers in our hospitals and long-term care homes will be vaccinated over the coming days and weeks, with more people to follow as additional shipments arrive.

The first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will be administered in Ontario today (Dec. 14):

• Ontario’s first few thousand doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine touched down in Hamilton late on Sunday night, and are expected to reach Toronto later on Monday morning.
• The province initially said the first recipients of the vaccine would be inoculated on Tuesday but the province has now said people will begin receiving the shots on Monday.
• A UPS cargo plane carrying the vaccine landed in Hamilton, with some of the first 6,000 doses of vaccine expected to arrive at a UHN hospital site in Toronto around 9 a.m. Monday morning.
• Doses of the vaccine will also head to The Ottawa Hospital, but are likely coming from a plane that landed at Mirabel Airport in Montreal due to its proximity.

Ontario Updates Testing Guidelines for Outbound International Travellers:

• As previously announced, the provincial government is updating testing guidelines for outbound international travellers.
• Individuals requesting a COVID-19 test for international travel clearance are no longer eligible for a publicly funded COVID-19 test in Ontario.
• This step is being taken to ensure taxpayer dollars are appropriately allocated to key priorities and to preserve capacity within the provincially funded COVID-19 testing network. The province continues to provide testing to anyone who needs a test per provincial testing guidelines at no cost. This includes people who are symptomatic, or people who have been in contact with someone who has symptoms.
• The cost of a COVID-19 test at Shoppers Drug Mart for international travellers is now $199, plus tax.

Ontario increases funding to renew and modernize Loyalist College:

• Todd Smith, MPP for Bay of Quinte, announced the Ontario government is investing $2,166,200 in capital funding to help Loyalist College address their deferred maintenance backlog, undertake critical repairs and upgrades, and provide a modern and safe learning environment for students, faculty and staff.
• As part of the College Equipment and Renewal Fund (CERF), the government is also providing $410,100 in capital funding to help Loyalist College purchase and renew instructional equipment and learning resources.
• For 2020-21, CERF funding can also be used to purchase equipment to support student virtual learning during COVID-19.

Ontario Extends COVID-19 Orders:

• The provincial government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, is extending all orders currently in force under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020 (ROA) until January 20, 2021.
• This extension will support the safe delivery of health care and other critical services until COVID-19 vaccines are approved and widely available.

Ontario Permanently Allowing Alcohol with Food Takeout and Delivery:

• The provincial government is supporting jobs at local restaurants, bars, breweries, wineries and distilleries during the COVID-19 pandemic by expanding opportunities in alcohol sales, including making the sale of alcohol with food takeout and delivery orders permanent.
• Ontario previously approved some of these changes on a temporary basis to support businesses significantly impacted by the spread of COVID-19. The province is now permanently allowing licensed restaurants and bars to include alcohol with food as part of a takeout or delivery order.
• Additional permanent reforms for the hospitality sector will allow:
  • alcohol service on docked boats by operators with a liquor sales licence;
  • reduced minimum pricing of spirits consumed on-site, to align with the reduced pricing introduced for takeout and delivery orders;
  • the length of time for temporary patio extensions to be set out by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO); and,
  • for a requirement that ensures third parties delivering from licensed restaurants and bars have a delivery licence.

Federal

Canada to receive early access to Moderna COVID-19 vaccine:

• Today (Dec. 15) Minister of Public Services and Procurement announced that following successful negotiations and contingent on Health Canada authorization of the vaccine, Canada will be able to access 168,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in December 2020.
• These are part of the guaranteed 40 million doses, and up to a total of 56 million doses, that Canada has secured through its existing agreement with Moderna. As with all COVID-19 vaccine candidates, the Moderna vaccine must be authorized by Health Canada before being administered to Canadians.
• Moderna submitted an application for regulatory review of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate under Health Canada’s interim order on October 12, 2020. Results of this review are expected soon.

Health Canada warns people with allergies to COVID-19 vaccine ingredients:

• Health Canada warned Saturday that people allergic to ingredients in the COVID-19 vaccine should forego getting the shots, days before inoculations are scheduled to begin in this country.
• “Health Canada has reviewed the available evidence and has concluded that the current (prescribing information) and available public health guidance are appropriate, and is not recommending any changes to the product's use at this time,” the statement reads, adding that it will take action if any new safety issues are confirmed.
• “In Canada, all vaccines carry a warning about the risk of serious allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis,” the release said. “Immunization clinics are equipped to manage these rare events.”

Canadians urged to limit contacts amid rapidly rising trajectory:

• The federal government is urging Canadians to dramatically limit their contacts with other people as the country continues on a "rapid growth trajectory" for COVID-19 cases and the holiday season nears.
• Releasing new modelling from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Dr. Tam said if Canadians maintain their current contact levels, more than 12,000 new cases would be recorded daily by January.
• If people increase their level of contacts, that number could surge to more than 30,000 cases daily by January, according to the modelling sheets.
• During a briefing in Ottawa, Tam said only one per cent of Canadians have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, which means most Canadians remain vulnerable to being infected.

Canada to implement its first national vaccine injury compensation program:

• As part of Canada’s vaccine rollout, the federal government has announced that anyone who experiences a severe adverse reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine will be eligible for compensation — a first in Canada’s history.
• The no-fault program was announced Thursday, as Canada gets ready to roll out the first of seven new vaccines.
• “Serious side-effects are incredibly rare,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a press conference Thursday. “In the very unlikely event of an adverse reaction though, we want to make sure Canadians have fair access to support. So today, I can announce that we’re creating a federal support program around vaccine safety for all Canadians and for all vaccines. This includes COVID-19 vaccines that will be rolled out soon.”
• Serious reactions are not impossible, however. In the U.K., two people with a history of severe allergic reactions to things such as vaccines, medicine or food suffered serious reactions to the Pfizer vaccine this week. The situation is still being investigated to figure out what triggered the reactions.

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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