No COVID-19 Deaths and One Outbreak For January 19, 2022

No new deaths and one outbreak with 569 active cases have been reported by Peterborough Public Health on Thursday.

The one outbreak occurred at a congregate living setting on Wednesday with 31 cases reported.

There are 157 total hospitalizations and 27 total ICU admissions to date in Peterborough.

New COVID-19 cases by date. Photo courtesy of Peterborough Public Health.

For more information visit: https://localcovidtracker.ca/

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Peterborough Plans To Address Doctor Shortage In Area With New Committee

A new committee is being formed in Peterborough in hopes to plan and implement strategies for family physician recruitment and retention, announced last week.

Stock Photo.

This committee is being formed to address a shortage of doctors in Peterborough and Peterborough County.

Currently, it is estimated that about 11,000 people in the area lack a family doctor, and it would take nine new full-time physicians to fill the gap.

The committee was presented at Peterborough City Council last Wednesday, and is still in the early stages of development. It is recommending increased funding from the county.

At a Nov. 3 county council meeting, Maria Gomez, a committee member of the education department of the Canadian Association of Staff Physician Recruiters and director for the West Northumberland Physician Recruitment, spoke to council regarding the lack of physicians in the area.

Gomez said that 20 per cent of the population is at risk of not having the required health care services.

The county, city and the Peterborough Family Health Team (PFHT) have a tri-party agreement for physician recruitment services, with the county contributing $14,980 annually and the city contributing $21,220 in 2021.

The November presentation recommended increasing their budgets to match competitive programs in other communities.

The city has since committed to funding $81,000 in 2022.

The funding request of $57,000 for the county in 2022 has been referred to the county 2022 budget.

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Ontario Government to Add Hospital Beds and Build Up Health Workforce

The Ontario government is planning to add hospital beds and build up the province’s health care workforce in a live-streamed announcement on Tuesday afternoon.

Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health (pictured) was joined by Matthew Anderson, CEO of Ontario Health on the announcement. Screenshot.

The decision was made to ensure patients can continue to access the health care they need when they need it according to Ontario Government officials.

The province is collaborating with Ontario Health (OH) and the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) on initiatives to deploy internationally educated nurses to hospitals and other health care settings in need of staffing support to work as part of a team under the supervision of a regulated health care provider, such as a registered nurse or doctor.

More than 1,200 internationally educated CNO applicants have expressed interest in participating in these initiatives so far and matching with healthcare providers is expected to begin later this week, with onboarding new staff in the weeks ahead.

“Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ontario’s hospitals and health care providers have worked tirelessly to protect the health and safety of patients,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “Our government has continued to make critical investments in our hospital and health workforce to ensure no resource goes untapped so that our hospitals have the staffing and resources they need to care for patients during this challenging time.”

Since March 2020, the government has launched emergency programs that have already added over 6,700 health care professionals to the system including acute care settings, long-term care homes and home and community care settings that help to preserve hospital capacity according to the release.

These programs will also provide hospitals with the capacity to add another 6,000 additional providers to high-need hospitals to support staffing pressures due to COVID-19 by Mar. 31 including the deployment of nursing students and other health care providers-in-training as stated by the Ontario Governemnt.

Since the start of the pandemic, $5.1 billion have been invested to add 3,100 beds across the province for a total of approximately 17,000 medical and surgical beds.

Through additional investments, Ontario has a total of 2,436 adult and pediatric ICU beds. Approximately 600 ICU beds remain available today, with the ability to add nearly 500 additional beds if required.

"More than ever, this wave of the pandemic will require us to work as a system, ensuring we utilize all of our provincial resources to meet the needs of patients," said Matthew Anderson, President & CEO of Ontario Health. "We are working closely with hospital and health care partners to maintain and protect capacity across the system."

These ongoing initiatives build on the government’s commitment as part of the 2021 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review: Build Ontario to invest $342 million over the next five years through immediate and longer-term recruitment initiatives which would add over 13,000 workers to Ontario’s health care system.

This includes over 5,000 new and upskilled registered nurses and registered practical nurses as well as 8,000 personal support workers.

“The pandemic has highlighted the need for more staff on the front lines of our health care system,” said Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance. “Our government committed to spare no expense in the fight against the pandemic to protect people’s health and the economy, which is why investing in the front lines of our health care system was one of the key pillars of our plan to Build Ontario.”

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One COVID-19 Death, Five Hospitalizations and Three Outbreaks For January 10, 2022

One new death, five hospitalizations, three outbreaks with 1,159 active cases have been reported by Peterborough Public Health on Monday.

The three outbreaks occurred at Sherbrooke Heights Retirement Residence, Congregate Living Facility #12 and Peterborough Regional Health Centre on consecutive days starting on Saturday respectively.

Nine cases were reported on Monday along with 102 that were reported over the weekend (58 on Saturday and 44 on Sunday).

There are 125 total hospitalizations and 22 total ICU admissions to date in Peterborough.

New COVID-19 cases by date. Photo courtesy of Peterborough Public Health.

For more information visit: https://localcovidtracker.ca/

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First Frostbite Alert of the Season Issued By Peterborough Public Health

Peterborough Public Health has issued the first Frostbite Alert of the season because forecasted wind chill values are expected to drop to -28 °C Friday evening and early Saturday morning for a few hours.

East City Peterborough on a cold night. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Extreme cold events are a potentially significant health risk and everyone is encouraged to take precautions to stay safe. Extreme cold temperatures can particularly impact the health of vulnerable populations including infants, the elderly, people with circulatory problems and the marginally housed. There are various emergency shelters available overnight in the City of Peterborough.

In order to protect the health of people in Peterborough County and City and Curve Lake and Hiawatha First Nations, Peterborough Public Health advises local residents to take the following precautions: 

• Check face and extremities frequently for signs of frostbite. Exposed skin can freeze in as little as 10 to 30 minutes.

• Consider re-scheduling outdoor recreational activities, especially during the evening. There is a serious risk of hypothermia and frostbite if outdoors for long periods.

• Use caution when shovelling snow especially for those that have heart, respiratory (breathing) problems or other medical conditions. Snow shovelling is strenuous and can cause an onset of heart or respiratory problems.

• Check on the elderly or people with disabilities living alone.

Always wear clothing appropriate for the weather. Synthetic and wool fabrics provide better insulation. Some synthetic fabrics are designed to keep perspiration away from your body which keeps you dry and further reduces your risk.

Peterborough Public Health has issued these tips to stay warm:

• Dress in layers with a wind-resistant outer layer. You can remove layers if you get too warm (before you start sweating) or add a layer if you get cold.

• Wear warm socks, gloves, a hat and a scarf in cold weather. Be sure to cover your nose to protect it.

• If you get wet, change into dry clothing as soon as possible. You lose heat faster when you're wet.

Cold-related illnesses include:

Hypothermia: Symptoms/signs include: shivering, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling/uncoordinated movements, memory loss, slurred speech and drowsiness.

Frostbite: Symptoms/signs include: white/greyish skin area, skin that feels unusually firm or waxy, or numbness. Increases in other health problems can also be seen especially for those with other chronic medical conditions such as heart conditions.

Further information about the health risks of extreme cold and Peterborough Public Health’s Extreme Cold Response Plan can be found here or by visiting www.peterboroughpublichealth.ca and searching for “extreme cold”.

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Peterborough Public Health Warns That Local COVID-19 Case Count Is An Understatement Is Likely Closer to 10,000

Medical officer of health, Dr. Thomas Piggot, said on Thursday that the active number of COVID-19 cases is likely much higher than reported.

There are currently 1,111 active cases of COVID-19 in Peterborough, though Dr. Piggot says that due to the provincially mandated restrictions on PCR testing there are many more un documented cases.

“Prior to the changes in the testing criteria, the modelling estimates we saw provincially showed potentially we were underreporting by a factor of eight. So there are eight times more cases,” he said.

Dr. Piggot says the current case count is a severe underestimate and that there are closer to 10,000 cases.

“There is lots of concern and uncertainty with what’s happening, but there’s reason for hope,” he said. “I really feel we’re at the darkest part of the night before the dawn that is coming.”

To date, 41.6 per cent of eligible local residents aged 18 and up have received a third booster shot. 85.2 per cent of eligible residents aged five and up have received one dose, 80 per cent have received two doses.

Anyone looking for a first or second dose can walk in to a clinic with no appointment.

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Peterborough Public Health Hosting Vaccination Clinic For Youth Aged 5-11

Two new child-friendly vaccination clinics are planned at the Healthy Planet Arena on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days

Photo courtesy of The City of Peterborough.

Appointments can be booked through the provincial booking system online at www.ontario.ca/covidvaccine or by calling 1-833-943-3900.

Only children who are 5-11 years old at the time of their appointment are eligible to receive the pediatric dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. This is based on date of birth, not year of birth.

“With 55% of local youth aged 5-11 still requiring their first dose, I urge families to get their children vaccinated as quickly as possible to protect them and help in the community-wide effort to slow the spread of Omicron,” said Dr. Thomas Piggott, Medical Officer of Health. “We are pulling out all the stops to make vaccinations as accessible as we can, and there are currently 3,200 appointments available for those aged 5- 11, including over 1,000 this weekend alone.”

Dr. Piggott also reminded residents that eight weeks between doses is recommended by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI). However, for parents who consent and want to make the decision to get their child a second dose sooner, the minimum interval between first and second dose of a Pfizer-BioNtech Pediatric COVID-19 vaccine is 21 days

Residents who wish to receive their second dose appointments earlier than the eight-week interval must book by calling 1-833-943-3900 and providing informed consent. Accelerated second appointments earlier than eight weeks cannot be booked online.

PPH will continue adding more clinics over the coming weeks to help provide the best protection for this age group. Parents and guardians are asked to remember that it does take two weeks after the second dose for full immunity to be in effect.

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COVID-19 Numbers In Peterborough For January 4, 2022

There are currently 1,035 active cases of COVID-19 in Peterborough as of Jan. 4, 2022.

For more information visit: https://localcovidtracker.ca/

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Ontario Will Return To Modified Step Two On Wednesday

Premier Doug Ford announced on Monday that Ontario will return to modified step two, on Wednesday.

Screenshot.

The new restrictions will take place for at least 21 days.

Students and school staff will move to online learning until at least Jan. 17. School buildings will be allowed to remain open for child-care operations, and to provide instruction for students with special education needs who are unable to learn at home.

New measures include:

• Closure of indoor dining. Takeout, drive through and delivery are still allowed.

• Closing indoor, gyms, theatres, concert venues, theatres, cinemas, museums, galleries and zoos

• Limiting indoor social gatherings to five people and outdoor gatherings to 10, and 50 per cent capacity limit for weddings, funerals, religious services and retail settings.

• Capacity limits for personal care services, including hair and nail salons, will be cut to 50 per cent.

• Outdoor settings will be allowed to stay open with restrictions and limited to 50 per cent capacity.

• Hospitals must pause all non-emergent and non-urgent surgeries.

• Businesses and organizations are required to ensure employees work remotely unless the nature of their work requires them to be on-site.

"The immediate goal of these measures will be to blunt the latest wave so we can ease the pressure on our hospitals," Premier Ford said. "We face a tsunami of new cases in the days and weeks ahead."

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