For Municipal Partners

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Municipal Partners

March 2, 2021

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 421 cumulative lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 21 active, 394 resolved and 6 deceased. There were 3 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
  • Vaccines administered to date:  2,330
  • Fully vaccinated individuals to date:  796
  • There are four long-term care homes remaining for residents to receive their second dose of vaccine and these will be completed by mid-March.
  • Ontario is reporting 966 cases of COVID-19 and 11 deaths as more than 30,800 tests have been completed. There are 253 new cases in Toronto, 223 in Peel, and 99 in York Region.
  • In Canada, as at March 1, 2021, there are 870,033 total cases of COVID-19 with 30,430 active cases and 817,586 recovered. To date, there have been 22,017 COVID-19 related deaths and more than 24,545,470 individuals tested.

Summary of cases of COVID-19: Ontario, January 15, 2020 to March 1, 2021

 

Report

Number

Percentage

Number of Cases

 302,805

N/A

Change from previous day’s report (new cases)

 966

0.3 increase

Resolved

 285,262

94.2

Change from previous day’s report

 979 0.3 increase

Total number of deaths

6,997

2.3

Total tests completed

11,110,935

N/A

Total test completed in the previous day

30,767

N/A

Currently under investigation

31,074

N/A

Summary of Cases in Ontario Schools - Updated March 2, 2021.

 

Report

Number of New Cases

 Cumulative Cases

School-related cases 

262

 8,813

School-related student cases

231

 6,262

School-related staff cases

 30 1,417

Individual(s) not identified (other staff)

1

 1,134

Current number of schools with a reported case

 640 N/A

Current number of schools closed

23

 N/A

 


Local Updates
  • Successful Clinic: Our clinic on March 1 at Loyalist College was very successful. HPEPH had help and support from Loyalist College Students and Faculty. Appointments were scheduled every 10 minutes.
    • Overall, we administered 144 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine.
      • HPEPH is holding clinics throughout the week for those currently eligible to get vaccinated.


Provincial

Ontario provides more than $1 Billion in support for small business

  • The Ontario government has to-date provided more than $1 billion through the Ontario Small Business Support Grant to help eligible business owners affected by the COVID-19 restrictions. The grant provides a minimum of $10,000 to a maximum of $20,000 and can be used in whatever way makes the most sense for individual businesses; from paying employee wages, to offsetting the cost of rent, to purchasing inventory.
  • "Small businesses are  the backbone of Ontario's economy employing local people in communities across the province," said Premier Ford. "The sad fact is these business owners have suffered significantly through the pandemic, but we have had their backs with programs like the Ontario Small Business Support Grant. So far the uptake of these grants has been tremendous, and I strongly encourage all business owners to apply and access this financial relief."
  • More than 78,000 Ontario Small Business Support Grant applications from small businesses across the province have been processed representing more than $1 billion in support. Upon approval, successful applicants will receive payment within 10 days. Applications are still open until
    March 31    , 2021 and a detailed step-by-step instructional video on the application portal is available to help guide applicants through the process.
  • The government is also providing eligible businesses with rebates for property tax and energy costs. Grant programs are available through a simple online application, and businesses can learn more by visiting Ontario.ca/COVIDsupport.

Quick Summary of Provincial Developments:

  • The Ontario government says it is in the process of finalizing the rollout for the AstraZeneca vaccine. A spokesperson for Health Minister Elliot said that details on the distribution of this new vaccine will be released once the province receives guidance from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization and more information from the federal government on Ontario’s allocations and delivery timelines.
  • Health Minister Elliott indicated that Ontario is also considering a delay of up to four months in administering the second dose of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines in order to get as many people vaccinated as possible.
  • Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccination portal had a “soft launch” on March 1 in six regions (including HPEPH) across the province to test different components of the system in preparation for the full launch on March 15. Public health officials in those regions will reach out to a small number of individuals who are 80 or older, as well as some eligible health care workers to participate in the launch.
  • Ontario has authorized Toronto to prioritize COVID-19 vaccination of people experiencing homelessness, as they are being hit with fast-spreading COVID-19 variants.

Public Health Unit Region Classifications:

As of March 1, nine public health unit regions have been moved from their current level in the Framework to the following levels:

  • Grey-Lockdown: Simcoe-Muskoka District Health Unit; and Thunder Bay District Health Unit.
  • Red-Control: Niagara Region Public Health.
  • Orange-Restrict: Chatham-Kent Public Health; Middlesex-London Health Unit; and Southwestern Public Health.
  • Yellow-Protect: Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit; and Huron Perth Public Health.
  • Green-Prevent: Grey Bruce Health Unit.

Strategy for the Mass Distribution of COVID-19 Vaccines in Ontario:

  • The COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Committee new report entitled, A Strategy for the Mass Distribution of COVID-19 Vaccines in Ontario Based on Age and Neighbourhood noted that COVID-19 “has taken a disproportionate toll on Ontario older adults and on residents of disadvantaged and racialized urban neighbourhoods.” Consequently, the Committee is recommending an approach that prioritizes vaccine distribution to those at highest risk for infection, hospitalization, ICU admission or death from COVID-19.

Ontario Makes Reforms to Child Care Programs to Improve Accessibility:

  • Based on feedback from families and the childcare sector and the findings of the Strengthening Early Years and Child Care in Ontario report, the provincial government announced regulatory amendments to childcare programs that will:
    • Exempt certain authorized recreational providers from their three-hour operating limit, improving access to select before and after school programs for families with school-age children.
    • Enhance health and safety protections in licenced childcare settings, such as requirements to support contact tracing by local public health, new requirements for home-based childcare and updates to the safe storage of potentially poisonous and hazardous items.
    • Remove duplicate requirements related to the collection of children's emergency contact information, allowing records and documents to be kept in digital format, and no longer requiring licensees to seek ministry approval for children 44 months and up to bring their own meals from home.

Federal

Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) Updated Recommendations:

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization made the following recommendations on AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine:

  • In the context of limited vaccine supply, AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine may be offered to individuals 18-64 years without contraindications if:
    • the advantages of earlier vaccination outweigh the limitations of vaccinating with a less efficacious vaccine;
    • the ease of transport, storage and handling of this vaccine facilitates access to vaccination which may otherwise be challenging; and
    • informed consent includes discussion about current vaccine options and the timing of future vaccine options

COVID-19 Cases and the Spread of Variants of Concern:

  • Dr. Tam noted there has been a steady decline in COVID-19 nationally from mid-January through mid-February, however, daily counts have since leveled off and now there has been a moderate increase in cases as well as the emergence and spread of the variants of concern.
  • Data shows an average of 2,269 people with COVID-19 were being treated in Canadian hospitals each day during the most recent 7-day period (Feb. 19-25), including 564 of whom were being treated in intensive care units. During the same period, there were an average of 52 COVID-19-related deaths reported daily.
  • As of February 28, a total of 1,254 variants of concern have been reported across Canada, including 1,152 B.1.1.7 variants, 99 B.1.351 variants and 3 P.1 variants with the highest numbers to date reported in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec respectively.

Other News

Updates

  • International Developments: Media reports indicate that a spokesperson for the U.S. White House has said today (March 2) that President Biden is committed to seeing every American vaccinated before sending doses to other countries such as Canada and Mexico. Prime Minister Trudeau said last week that Canada is expected to receive part of its AstraZeneca supply from U.S. production facilities in the second and third quarters of this year.
  • Mental Health Supports: Ontario is investing $10.5M to expand the mental health Secure Treatment Program for children and youth with complex mental health and addictions needs.

Useful Links

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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