COVID-19: 3 new cases for Peterborough area; nearly 80% of eligible residents fully vaccinated

Peterborough Public Health reported three new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday as the region’s vaccination rate among eligible residents is nearly 80 per cent.

In its update issued around 4:08 p.m., the regional health unit reported 18 active cases, down from 19 reported on Tuesday afternoon and 22 on Monday morning.

Other data from the health unit — which serves Peterborough, Peterborough County, Curve Lake First Nation and Hiawatha First Nation — includes:

• Total confirmed cases: 1,820 since the pandemic was declared in March 2020.
• Variant of concern cases: 1,052 — an additional one since Tuesday (1,051). The health unit confirmed its first Delta variant case on June 19 and its first variant case on Feb. 23.
• Resolved cases: 1,779 — an additional four cases since Tuesday (1,775). Resolved cases make up approximately 97.3 per cent of all cases.
• Close contacts: 375 — down from 500 reported on Tuesday and 507 reported on Monday A close contact is a person who is known to have had close contact with someone who was infected with COVID-19. People who are close contacts have to self-isolate for 14 days from the last time they had contact with a person infected with COVID-19.
• Deaths: 23 — a death was reported on Friday, Sept. 10, the first one since June 29. The health unit reported the woman in her 40s was unvaccinated.
• Peterborough Regional Health Centre: Reported no COVID-19 inpatients on Tuesday (most recent data). There have been at least 76 patient transfers from other areas.

The health unit released its weekly vaccination rate data on Wednesday:

All eligible residents (ages 12 and up):

• 84.9 per cent had received a first vaccine dose (up from 84.3 per cent on Sept. 22)
• 79.7 per cent had received a first and second dose — fully vaccinated (up from 78.7 on Sept. 22 and 77.7 per cent on Sept. 15).

Adults (ages 18 and up):

•  85.1 per cent had received a first vaccine dose (up from 84.4 per cent on Sept. 22)
•  80.3 per cent had received a first and second dose — fully vaccinated (up from 79.3 per cent on Sept.15 and 78.3 per cent on Sept. 15).

Youth (ages 12-17):

• 82.9 per cent had received a first vaccine dose (up from 81.8 per cent on Sept. 22)
• 71.5 per cent had received a first and second dose — fully vaccinated (up from 67.9 per cent on Sept. 15).

To date, the health unit reports 223,209 doses of vaccine have been administered — an additional 2,338 since the Sept. 22 update. Of that total, 111,622 eligible residents have received a first dose; 104,598 have received a first and second dose (an additional 1,384 since Sept. 22).

Clinics

This month, the health unit is hosting a number of walk-in vaccination clinics for anyone aged 12 and older, offering first and second doses. Clinics this week include:

• Wednesday, Sept. 29: St. Alphonsus Catholic Elementary School, 875 Mary St. in Peterborough — 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.; and Norwood District High School (in the cafeteria), 44 Elm St. in Norwood — 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Friday, Oct. 1: Healthy Planet Arena, 911 Monaghan Rd. in Peterborough — 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Sunday, Oct. 3: Go Vaxx Bus at Lang Pioneer Village museum, 104 Lang Rd. in Keene — 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and at Lansdowne Place mall, 645 Lansdowne St. W. in Peterborough — 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

All testing and medical assessments for COVID-19 in Peterborough are now consolidated at Peterborough Regional Health Centre’s assessment centre at 1 Hospital Dr. Appointments must be booked online.

A number of Peterborough and area pharmacies offer vaccinations to eligible recipients. Appointments are required and can be made by calling the respective pharmacies or visiting the Ontario government’s website.

On Thursday, all Peterborough Public Health offices will be closed in observation of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board reports the following cases at schools within the health unit’s jurisdiction (latest available data was Tuesday). The school board no longer identifies the specifics of a case including whether a student or staff member is involved:

• Millbrook/South Cavan Public School in Millbrook: Three cases — unchanged since Monday. The kindergarten to Grade 8 school remains open.
• Crestwood Secondary School in Peterborough: One case — unchanged since Monday. The school remains open.
• Kenner Collegiate Vocational Institute: One case — unchanged since Tuesday. The school remains open.

The Peterborough Victoria Northumberland Clarington Catholic District School Board reports the following case within the health unit’s jurisdiction:

• Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School in Peterborough: One case  — unchanged since Monday. The school remains open.

Trent University reports three active cases (two at its Peterborough campus and one case at the Durham campus — both one case less at each campus). The university also reports 89 per cent of students and 95 per cent of employees are fully vaccinated. Another 7 per cent of students and 1 per cent of staff are partially vaccinated.

Fleming College has not reported any cases at its campus in Peterborough.

Other health unit data released on Wednesday:

• Testing: More than 60,350 people have been tested for COVID-19 — an additional 150 since Tuesday’s update.
• Outbreaks: None active. The health unit has dealt with 313 COVID-19 cases associated with 52 outbreaks since the pandemic was declared in March 2020.
• Hospitalizations: 88 cases have required hospitalized care, which make up approximately five per cent of all cases — 18 of the cases required the intensive care unit. ICU admissions make up one per cent of the cases.
• COVID-19 exposure: 75.6 per cent of all cases (1,376) in the health unit’s jurisdiction are from contact with another existing case; 20.2 per cent (368 cases) are connected with community spread; 3.8 per cent (69 cases) related to travel and 0.4 per cent (seven cases) have yet to be determined.