For Municipal Partners

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Municipal Partners

August 18 , 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.

Updates

Epidemiological

• Hastings and Prince Edward Counties is reporting 45 cumulative lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 38 having recovered and 5 deceased. Over 20,545 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 122,872 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 resulting in 9,032 deaths. To date, over 4,840,043 individuals have been tested.

Summary of cases of COVID-19: Ontario, January 15, 2020 to August 17, 2020

Federal

Canada Revenue Agency Cyber Security Breach

• On Saturday, the Federal Government released a statement regarding recent “credential stuffing” attacks on the GCKey service and Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) accounts that used passwords and usernames collected from previous hacks of accounts worldwide, taking advantage of the fact that many people reuse passwords and usernames across multiple accounts.
• The passwords and usernames of 9,041 users were acquired fraudulently and used to try and access government services, a third of which accessed such services and are being further examined for suspicious activity.
• Approximately 5,500 CRA accounts were targeted. Access to all affected accounts has been disabled to maintain the safety and security of taxpayers’ information and the Agency is contacting all affected individuals and will work with them to restore access to their CRA MyAccount.
• Currently, all online services with the CRA are unavailable, but expected to resume before the end of this week. Those wanting to apply for CERB or CESB can do so by calling 1-800-959-8281.

Provincial

Ontario Supports the Safe Reopening of More Spaces at Gyms and Recreation Centres

• The Ontario government is supporting the safe reopening of many sport, fitness and recreation facilities by applying a capacity limit on a per room basis.
• As of August 15, these facilities can have up to 50 patrons for each indoor sport or fitness room, while ensuring physical distancing of at least two metres.
• The revised capacity limits are on a per room basis. They will apply to the gymnasiums, health clubs, community centres, multi-purpose facilities, arenas, exercise studios, yoga and dance studios and other fitness facilities that are able to follow the new guidance.
• As access to sports and recreational facilities increases, the government is investing $8M through the Ontario Amateur Sport Fund to help the province's sports organizations to continue to serve athletes of all levels.

Ontario Takes Additional Steps to Better Protect Students and Staff

• The provincial government is providing more than $500M dollars in supports to school boards to ensure schools across the province will reopen safely in September and to protect students and staff. These supports will enable school boards to provide more physical distancing in classrooms and direct funding to utilize non-school community spaces, and will allow boards to make adjustments based on their local needs.
• Additional measures include:
  • Unlocking access to reserves up to $496M, an increase of $244M, by allowing boards to access up to 2 percent of their operating budget from their prior year accumulated surplus. This funding can be applied to local priorities of each board, based on the immediate needs on the ground to prepare for the start of school. For boards that do not have sufficient reserves, the government will provide up to an additional $11M in funding to support equitable school re-opening plans provincewide.
  • Providing $50M in one-time funding to support improved ventilation, air quality and HVAC system effectiveness in schools. School boards will continue to maximize their use of existing school renewal funding, which totals over $1.4B this school year. Boards will focus on improving air systems in older schools, portables, and in neighbourhoods with higher rates of community transmission.

Ontario Releases 2020-21 First Quarter Finances

• The provincial government is continuing to support the province's recovery from COVID-19 over the long-term while delivering on its commitment to transparency and accountability with the release of 2020-21 First Quarter Finances and an update to Ontario's Action Plan: Responding to COVID-19. To protect the health and economic well-being of the people of Ontario, the government continues to invest and budget for further contingencies in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak, including providing support to families, businesses, workers, municipalities, long-term care homes and those on the front-lines of the pandemic.
• These investments bring the government's COVID-19 response action plan to a projected $30B, up from $17B announced in Ontario's Action Plan: Responding to COVID-19 on March 25, 2020.

Ontario Providing Municipalities with up to $1.6B in First Round of Emergency Funding

• The provincial government, in partnership with the federal government, is delivering on its commitment to provide up to $4B in urgently needed one-time assistance to Ontario's 444 municipalities. Municipalities will be provided with up to $1.6B as part of the first round of emergency funding under the Safe Restart Agreement.
• This funding will help municipalities protect the health and well-being of the people of Ontario, while continuing to deliver critical public services, such as public transit and shelters, as the province continues down the path of renewal, growth and economic recovery.

Virtual Care

• In partnership with the Ministry of Health, Ontario Health is continuing to work with partners to support virtual care delivery wherever possible and appropriate, including:
  • Support for both English and French services for Ontarians without access to a primary care provider at seethedoctor.ca.
  • Expanding virtual care services with partners in emergency care, home and community care, mental health and addictions, pre-operative care, and long-term care.
  • A pilot program offering technology for mental health supports in 18 school boards, and exploring further opportunities with the education sector.

Local

• The City of Belleville would like to remind residents that City Hall is open to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Whenever possible, please consider doing business online or by phone. All visitors are required to wear a non-medical mask or face covering.

• The Belleville Theatre Guild has announced that they will be offering workshops & seminars, play readings or more fully realized productions on YouTube, ongoing one-act play festival featuring local artists this year. For more information, visit their website.

• Delegations from Prince Edward County and the City of Belleville are participating in the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference August 17-19. Ontario’s largest municipal conference brings together municipal, provincial and federal officials to work collectively to overcome municipal challenges and plan for the future – despite the difficulties brought on by COVID-19.

• Quinte Health Care has released a special COVID-19 Edition of their Vital Signs newsletter detailing the impacts of COVID-19 on the organization, how they have adapted and their planning for the future.

Public Health

• The Medical Officers of Health from Hastings Prince Edward Public Health (HPEPH) and Kingston, Frontenac, and Lennox & Addington (KFL&A) Public Health have released a joint statement regarding the upcoming return to school for students and educators across the region.

• HPEPH will receive provincial funding for up to six nursing positions. This is good news for our region, as this additional investment in public health will further support school boards and schools as they implement COVID-19 health and safety plans for the reopening of schools this fall.

• Dr. Ethan Toumishey will be joined by Acting Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Alexa Caturay, for a Facebook live update on Thursday, August 20 at 2:00 p.m. on the HPEPH Facebook page. The broadcast will feature a local COVID-19 update, responses to frequently asked questions, and the opportunity to address questions live to the doctors. To participate in the live event, go to the Hastings Prince Edward Public Health Facebook page, facebook.com/hpepublichealth, at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday.

• HPEPH monitors bathing beach water quality at designated public beaches within our jurisdiction. Bathing beach water quality is monitored by the collection and analysis of water samples. Currently, Centennial Park, Deseronto – Bay of Quinte and Frankford Park – Trent River beaches are posted as unsafe for swimming.

• HPEPH continues to remind residents that COVID-19 testing is available. Individuals who are concerned that they may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 or are experiencing COVID-19 related symptoms should contact their health care provider, TeleHealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000, or their local COVID-19 Assessment Centre. Individuals who are concerned about accessing an assessment centre or who have questions about COVID-19 are encouraged to call the HPEPH COVID-19 information line at 613-966-5500 / 1-800-267-2803. Visit our Getting Tested web page for more information.

• HPEPH would like to remind local businesses and tourist establishments to make visitors aware of the HPEPH Digital Guestbook, as part of regular registration, welcome, or payment procedures, to help improve infection control efforts. The Guestbook can be accessed at hpePublicHealth.ca/guestbook.

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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