COVID-19: 1 new case in City of Kawartha Lakes; walk-in vaccination clinics for HKPR residents

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit reported just one new case of COVID-19 in its jurisdiction on Tuesday.

The number of active cases dropped to 25 on Tuesday, from 28 reported on Monday afternoon. All 25 cases are in the City of Kawartha Lakes as the one active case in Northumberland County on Monday was reported resolved. There have been no cases in Haliburton in more than two weeks.

There were four additional resolved cases reported Tuesday. The 2,094 cumulative resolved cases make up 95.9 per cent of the health unit’s 2,182 total cases since the pandemic was declared in March 2020.

The number of variant cases as of Tuesday remains unchanged at 810. Total variant cases include 429 in the Kawarthas, 344 in Northumberland County and 37 in Haliburton County (both unchanged).

There remains one active outbreak with 11 active cases as of Monday at the Kawartha Lakes Haliburton (KLH) Housing Corporation residence at 68 Lindsay St. N. in Lindsay. The outbreak was initially declared on Canada Day and the Delta variant has been identified in at least one of the confirmed cases.

Since the pandemic was first declared, the health unit has dealt with 70 outbreaks — 29 of them at long-term care facilities, 11 at workplace settings, 10 at congregate settings, nine at schools, 10 listed as “other community settings” and one at a hospital.

Other data for Tuesday:

• Deaths: 76 since the pandemic was declared. The latest virus-related death was reported June 29 in the City of Kawartha Lakes. There have been 58 deaths among people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the Kawarthas, 17 in Northumberland County and one in Haliburton County.
• Hospitalized COVID-19 cases to date: 82 — three people are currently in an area hospital (one more since Monday) with one in an intensive care unit (unchanged). Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reported one admitted COVID-19 patient as of Tuesday morning.

Starting this week, the health unit is hosting first-dose walk-in clinics at its sites in Cobourg and Fenelon Falls throughout the month of July. The clinics are open to anyone age 12 and older who has yet to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. No appointment is required, but you must be a resident of Northumberland County, City of Kawartha Lakes or Haliburton County.

The first-dose clinics will be held at the following locations:

• Cobourg Community Centre (750 D’Arcy St.) on Thursdays and Friday from 1 p.m. to 4 pm: July 8, July 9, July 15, July 16, July 22 and July 23.
• Fenelon Falls Community Centre (27 Veterans Way) on Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 pm: July 10, July 11, July 17, July 18 and July 25 (not July 24).

If there is strong interest in these first-dose, walk-in times, the health unit will expand them to its other mass immunization sites later in July.

“We realize not everyone may have been able to book appointments through the provincial booking system or been able to access COVID-19 vaccines through other channels,” stated Dr. Natalie Bocking, medical officer of health. “By providing this opportunity, we want to remove any barriers and make it as easy as possible for anyone who has not yet received a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to get one.”

As of Monday afternoon, nearly 77 per cent of eligible adults (18 and older) in the health unit’s jurisdiction has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. Youth ages 12 to 17 had a rate of 75.5 per cent. The goal of the new first-dose, walk-in times is bumping up vaccination rates even further.

“We’re very encouraged by how many local residents are committed to getting their first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccine,” Bocking said. “By making the process to get the first dose of vaccine even easier, we hope to increase local vaccination rates even further so that as many people as possible are fully protected against COVID-19 and its variants.”

Approximately 43.3 per cent of eligible adults have received both their first and second dose; 40.9 per cent for youth ages 12 to 17.

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