With 22 new COVID-19 cases announced between Friday to Monday, KFL&A Public Health is reporting 73 active cases, the highest number of active cases the region has seen since the tail end of the third wave.
Over the last two weeks, cases have been shooting up in two age brackets, with 25 cases reported in the 18- 29 age group, and the same number recorded in the 9 and under group.
While cases are routinely high for young adults, many cases among very young children have been less common throughout the course of the pandemic.
According to the Limestone District School Board’s COVID-19 tracker, since Oct. 20, 26 cases have been reported in local schools. The Queen’s COVID tracker is reporting zero new cases associated with its student population since Oct. 25.
There are currently three active outbreaks among schools: one large one at R.G. Sinclair Public School, with 13 active cases and one recovery, and two smaller ones at Molly Brant and J.G. Simcoe Public School, each with two cases as of Monday.
On Friday, KFL&A’s new medical officer of health, Dr. Piotr Oglaza, addressed the uptick in cases at local schools, and said transmission is being found mostly in settings outside of schools, activities not structured around public health protocols.
Oglaza also noted that young children are among the few groups who are largely unvaccinated, which is why case counts are rising within that population.
He said, as of Friday, that he and other local health officials are confident in the safeguards in place at local schools.
KFL&A Public Health said 70 per cent of the active cases are “close contacts known to us before they tested positive. This means that they were at home isolating already.”
Still, case counts in KFL&A are outpacing those in nearby regions like Hastings Prince Edward Public Health, which has 13 active cases as of Monday, and Leeds, Grenville and Lanark, which is only reporting seven active cases.
On Friday, Oglaza suggested to parents preparing for both the Halloween weekend and Monday’s PA day to make sure not to let their children socialize with others if they are ill.