COVID-19: HKPR health unit reports 3 new cases, declares outbreak at Cobourg retirement home

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit reported three new cases of COVID-19 and declared an outbreak at a retirement home over the past 48 hours, according to data released Friday afternoon.

Two new cases were reported in Northumberland County and one in the City of Kawartha Lakes. The health unit also reported seven new resolved cases, meaning the number of active cases within the health unit’s jurisdiction dropped to 13 from 17 reported on Wednesday (no update was issued on Thursday).

The 13 active cases include four in the City of Kawartha Lakes (down one), nine in Northumberland County (down three) and none in Haliburton County (unchanged).

The health unit late Wednesday also declared an outbreak at Palisade Gardens Retirement Community on Chapel Street in Cobourg. According to a memo from general manager Micki Mclean, three staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. Mclean says all residents will remain in their units until the outbreak is declared over and all visitations will cease immediately. All scheduled public space events will discontinue until further notice, too.

“Meals will continue to be delivered. Essential care providers are permitted in the building if they have proof of vaccination for an approved COVID-19 vaccine and are wearing full PPE (personal protective equipment),” Mclean stated. “We have been proactive in this situation by requesting our residents isolate in advance of the public health order, therefore, we could potentially be out of outbreak on October 21st.”

Residents will be re-tested for COVID-19 on Oct. 18, Mclean noted.

“The management team and staff are working very hard through this difficult time to ensure everyone remains safe,” Mclean said. “We understand that you may be upset by this news, but we are following all the guidelines set out by public health to ensure we get through this outbreak without additional positive cases.”

Since the pandemic was first declared, the health unit has dealt with 74 outbreaks — 30 of them at long-term care/retirement facilities, 12 at workplace settings, 11 at congregate settings, nine at schools, 11 at “other community settings” and one at a hospital.

Other COVID-19 data reported by the health unit on Friday:

• Resolved cases: 2,393 — an additional seven cases since Wednesday. The resolved cases make up approximately 96.9 per cent of the 2,469 cumulative cases since the pandemic’s beginning.
• Variant cases: 939 — unchanged since Wednesday. Overall there have been 520 variant cases in the Kawarthas, 365 in Northumberland County and 54 in Haliburton County.
• High-risk contacts: 75 — down from 121 reported on Wednesday. The health unit notes 13 of the high-risk contacts are missing residence identification but are included in the overall data.
• Hospitalized cases to date: 90 — unchanged since Sept. 29. There are currently no hospitalized cases within the health unit’s jurisdiction. Since the pandemic began, there have been 51 hospitalized cases in the City of Kawartha Lakes, 36 in Northumberland County and three in Haliburton County.
• Deaths: 76 since the pandemic was declared. The latest virus-related death was reported on 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.
• COVID-19 tests: 233,040 have been completed in the health unit’s jurisdiction since the pandemic began — an additional 635 reported since Wednesday’s update.

School boards as of 1:15 p.m. Friday reported the following cases at schools within the health unit’s jurisdiction:

• The Trillium Lakelands District School Board reported no active cases.
• The Peterborough Victoria Northumberland Clarington District School Board reported one active case: St. Mary’s Catholic Secondary School in Cobourg. School remains open.
• The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board reported no active cases.

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The health unit released its weekly vaccination data early Tuesday afternoon, which can be found in this Global News Peterborough story.

Upcoming school vaccination clinics (all open 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. for students, staff, parents, family members and members of the community. No appointments necessary for first and second doses):

• Monday, Oct. 18: St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School (260 Angeline St. S. in Lindsay) and St. Mary Catholic Secondary School (1050 Birchwood Trail in Cobourg)

Other upcoming mobile vaccination clinics hosted by the health unit include:

Northumberland County:

• Saturday, Oct. 16: Centreton Community Centre (2363 County Rd. 23) in Centreton from noon to 3 p.m.

City of Kawartha Lakes:

Saturday, Oct. 16:

• Drive-thru clinic at the Little Britain/Mariposa Fire Hall (522 Eldon Rd.) in Little Britain from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Kirkfield Fire Hall (16 Munroe St.) in Kirkfield from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Visit Ontario’s pharmacy COVID-19 page for a list of pharmacies that offer a vaccination.