For Municipal Partners

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Municipal Partners

June 5, 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 have 43 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 185 probable cases, with 33 lab-confirmed cases having recovered and 5 deceased.
    • Approximately 7,996 COVID-19 tests have been conducted, with a 0.6% positivity rate.
    • Facilities experiencing COVID-19 outbreak can be found online.
    • More details are available on our website hpePublicHealth.ca.
  • In Canada, there are 93,726 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 resulting in 7,637 deaths. To date, over 1,791,106 individuals have been tested.

Summary of cases of COVID-19: Ontario, January 15, 2020 to June 4, 2020

Severity

Number

Percentage

Number of cases

29,747

N/A

Change from previous report (new cases)

344

1.2 increase

Resolved

23,583

79.3

Change from previous report

375

1.6 increase

Subset of all cases that are reported to be long-term care residents

5,222

17.6

Subset of all cases that are reported as a health care worker associated with long-term care outbreaks

1,883

6.3

Total number of deaths

2,372

8.0

Deaths reported for residents in long-term care homes

1,519

64.0

Deaths reported for health care workers in long-term care homes

5

0.2

Total tests completed

809,053

N/A

Total tests completed in the previous day

20,730

N/A

Currently under investigation

12,247

N/A

Federal

Canadian Seniors to Receive Special Payment in July

  • Prime Minister Trudeau announced yesterday that seniors eligible for the Old Age Security (OAS) pension and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) will receive their special one-time, tax-free payment during the week of July 6. The government is providing nearly $900 more for single seniors and more than $1,500 for senior couples, on top of their existing benefits.
  • Seniors eligible for the OAS pension will receive a payment of $300, and those also eligible for the GIS will receive an additional $200, for a total of $500. Allowance recipients will also receive $500. This $2.5 billion in financial support will help Canadian seniors cover increased costs caused by COVID-19, and give them greater financial security in this time of crisis.

Prime Minister and Premiers Speak About COVID-19 Response

  • Yesterday, Prime Minister Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Freeland held their twelfth weekly call with Canada’s provincial and territorial Premiers to discuss their shared response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
  • First Ministers discussed measures that federal, provincial, and territorial governments could put in place to safely restart Canada’s economy, while preparing for any future resurgence of the virus. They also continued their discussions of the tools and investments needed to significantly expand testing and contact tracing to manage current COVID-19 cases, while quickly containing any potential future outbreaks.
  • The Prime Minister updated the Premiers on continuing measures at the Canada-US border to curtail non-essential travel, while permitting the free flow of trade and commerce.
  • All First Ministers reiterated their support for the Team Canada approach to fighting COVID-19, and the need to closely coordinate their efforts, moving forward.

Provincial

Ontario Creates Permier's Council on Equality of Opportunity

  • Yesterday, the Ontario government announced the Premier's Council on Equality of Opportunity, a new advisory group that will provide advice on how young people can overcome social and economic barriers and achieve success. The council will also advise government on long-term actions that can be taken to support youth during the COVID-19 outbreak.
  • The council will focus on the challenges facing young people today, such as completing an education, skills training, and employment. As an immediate priority, the council will identify strategies to support vulnerable and marginalized youth to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak.
  • The Ontario government is further supporting Black communities to address the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 by allocating $1.5 million in funding to organizations that support Black families and youth. This funding will be used to provide urgent COVID-19 supports and address the immediate needs of children, youth and families.

Ontario Appoints Special Advisor to Develop Health Data Platform

  • The Ontario government has appointed Dr. Jane Philpott as the special advisor to support the design and implementation of the new Ontario Health Data Platform (formerly known as PANTHR). This data platform will provide recognized researchers and health system partners with access to anonymized health data that will allow them to better detect, plan, and respond to COVID-19. As well, this platform will support projects from the Ontario COVID-19 Rapid Research Fund.
  • The Ontario Health Data Platform is being developed in consultation with the Ontario Privacy Commissioner. The information gathered will help break down long-standing barriers and allow researchers to help with:
    • Increasing detection of COVID-19.
    • Discovering risk factors for vulnerable populations.
    • Predicting when and where outbreaks may happen.
    • Evaluating how preventative and treatment measures are working.
    • Identifying where to allocate equipment and other resources.

Short-Term Accommodations Now Permitted

  • An amendment was made earlier this week to the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act Regulation 82/20 with regards to short-term accommodations.
  • Effective today, short term rentals, including lodges, cabins, cottages, homes, condominiums, B&Bs and other shared rental accommodation, including student residences, will be allowed to resume operations in Ontario.
  • These openings preclude the use of any pools, fitness centres, meeting rooms and other recreational facilities that may be part of the operations of these businesses.

Local

  • Need a cloth mask? Prince Edward Collegiate Institute has you covered. The school’s Make Poverty History Club is selling non-medical masks for $15 (or two for $25). Follow the link to find out more.

  • In the City of Quinte West a number of committee meetings will be held electronically until further notice. To ensure the health and safety of the public and in accordance with provincial restrictions on gatherings of more than five individuals, City Hall will not be open for committee meetings. Committee members will be participating remotely and will not be physically present. All meetings will be streamed live on the Quinte West Council YouTube page: http://bit.ly/LiveQWCouncil.

  • In Quinte West, despite construction, the Trenton Memorial Hospital Main Entrance Public Parking (West Side of Hospital) is OPEN. Visitors can access the parking lot by following signs on King St. and McColl St.

  • June is Parks and Recreation and Seniors’ Month to remind citizens of the benefits of enjoying recreation and parks for people’s physical, social, and emotional health. his June may differ from other years as people practice safe physical distancing and COVID-19 restrictions, but the City of Belleville’s Recreation, Culture and Community Services Department wants Belleville residents to know that it is still a month to be celebrated. As the warmer weather arrives, Quinte Sport and Wellness programming staff have worked hard to prepare a calendar of activities, with COVID-19 measures in place, in which you can safely participate this month by visiting QSWC.CA or by following them on Facebook @quintesportsandwellnesscentre or on Twitter @QSWC.

  • The Town of Bancroft will be holding Committee of the Whole and Council meetings on June 9 at 3 pm using Zoom and Facebook live.

Public Health

  • As there are currently fewer COVID-19 updates to communicate, starting next week, the Municipal Bulletin will be issued once a week on Tuesdays, unless there is urgent information to share more immediately. Please continue to submit relevant information you would like shared in the bulletin by Monday of each week. We maintain an archive of all the Municipal Bulletins on our website.
  • Several rallies against racism are planned in Hastings and Prince Edward Counties over the next few days. Note that restrictions continue for social gatherings of more than five people due to the provincial emergency order. The following are strategies to reduce the risk of COVID-19:
    • If you are ill, please stay home and if you have COVID-19 symptoms, get tested. Call the HPEPH COVID-19 information line at 613-955-5500 to arrange testing.
    • If you are at risk due to an underlying medical condition or age, please stay home and consider alternative ways to demonstrate support.
    • Maintain physical distancing (2 meters).
    • We recommend using a non-medical face covering when physical distancing cannot be assured.
    • Bring hand sanitizer and wash or sanitize your hands often.
    • Do not touch your face, specifically your eyes, nose and mouth.
    • Avoid socializing before or after.
    • Use signs and avoid shouting or yelling to limit droplet spread.
    • Self-monitor for symptoms afterwards, and if you develop even one symptom, self-isolate and get tested.
    •  

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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