The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit reports 10 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday to surpass 1,000 and reported several outbreaks over on the weekend.
In its Monday update, there were 10 new cases since Saturday (no update was issued Sunday), which included eight in Northumberland County and two in the City of Kawartha Lakes. On Saturday the health unit reported one new case in the Kawarthas and four more in Northumberland County.
The new cases push the health unit’s overall total to 1,009 since the pandemic was declared in March 2020. There are 43 active cases of the coronavirus as of noon Monday and 915 resolved (91 per cent).
Caressant Care McLaughlin long-term care in Lindsay reported a 17th resident has died of COVID-19. The announcement came after the health unit’s daily update with data that is 24 hours behind real-time data.
The health unit on Saturday also reported that three outbreaks were declared over:
- Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon: Declared Feb. 6 — one staff member tested positive.
- Central East Correctional Centre (Outbreak A): Declared Jan. 29 — at its peak, there were active cases among inmates, which included an outbreak in another jail section.
- Extendicare Long-term Care in Cobourg: Declared Feb. 3, case details were not made available.
There are three active outbreaks as of Monday:
- Warkworth Place long-term care: Declared Feb. 17 — one staff member tests positive.
- Regency long-term care home in Port Hope: Declared Jan. 30 with four cases — one resident and three staff members.
- Caressant Care McLaughlin long-term care in Lindsay: Declared Jan. 9 — 17 resident deaths. As of Friday morning, there were six active cases (three residents, three staff members). There have been 62 resident and 49 staff cases since the onset of the outbreak. “Test results from swabs done Friday are all negative,” the home said Monday. “All staff and residents are being swabbed again today”
Vaccine
The health unit also expects to receive 6,200 vaccine doses this week — 4,500 of the Pfizer vaccine and 1,700 of the Moderna vaccine (the second dose for long-term care and high-risk retirement home residents).
Dr. Ian Gemmill, acting medical officer of health for the health unit, says the Pfizer vaccine will be used to vaccinate staff of long-term care and retirement homes, essential caregivers in those facilities, and health-care workers in area hospitals. Persons receiving Home and Community Care, as well as other members of the community who are 80 years of age and older, are scheduled to be vaccinated next, possibly beginning in March with clinics planned.
“We are hearing that the shipment of vaccine expected this week is the beginning of an abundance of available vaccine that will be sent out across the province,” stated Gemmill. “We know that people have been anxiously awaiting their turn to be vaccinated, and I want to assure them that their turn is coming. We just all need to be patient as we receive more vaccine.”
The health unit is working with area hospitals and health-care partners to vaccinate long-term care and retirement home staff, as well as the hospitals’ own staff.
“Our goal is to ensure that we get the vaccine into as many arms as possible, as quickly as possible,” Gemmill said. “As soon as we have the vaccine and the details for clinics, we will share that information with our residents so they can get vaccinated.”
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