With COVID-19 cases rising once again by the double digits in the Kingston are, the region’s new medical officer of health spoke to media to address exactly why case counts seem to be rising so rapidly in the region.
Thursday, the health unit reported 13 new cases, with 91 active cases in the region. Active case counts have not been this high locally since mid-May, 2021, at the tail end of the third wave. In comparison, the two neighbouring health units are dealing with less than 30 active cases combined.
Most cases over the last two weeks can be attributed to two age groups, with 36 cases found in those under the age of 9 and 33 cases found among the 18 to 29 group.
Dr. Piotr Oglaza said he can’t be sure why cases have risen so dramatically in the last several weeks in KFL&A, since the virus is unpredictable, but cases are rising very quickly among unvaccinated populations.
“It’s linked to population density and activities that are undertaken by individuals who are not immunized, who are not protected against the virus,” he said.
That tracks with where KFL&A is reporting outbreaks, with five school outbreaks and one large outbreak linked to Kingston’s Integrated Care Hub, which serves those experiencing homelessness in the region.
Oglaza said contact tracing shows that cases are coming from unstructured events among vulnerable populations in the community, such as unvaccinated children and the unhoused population.
Oglaza was adamant that the school system is safe, and that the majority of cases found among children were being traced back to events like sleepovers and parties that are taking place after school hours.
“For parents of these children, please do exercise caution when planning get togethers with peers, with with friends, with with other families,” he said.
He noted that the homeless population is fairly isolated from the rest of the community, but unhoused people often interact with each other. Along with a lower vaccination rate, this makes them more vulnerable to catching COVID-19.
The outbreak linked to the Integrated Care Hub rose to 15 Thursday.
“From what we can say, many of that many of the cases are not fully immunized and we are working with that community, with the group, with other partner agencies on site to increase immunization uptake,” he said.
Oglaza also said that for the most part, transmission in the KFL&A region is being well tracked by contact tracers. Three quarters of known cases were already isolating when they tested positive, since they were contacts of another case.
The medical officer of health noted that although cases are high, contact tracers are able to pinpoint on patterns of transmission, which means we’re not at a point of uncontrollable community spread.
“If we start seeing increased cases from more random distribution in the community, that’s where the additional measures would be would be warranted,” he said.
Still, Oglaza made it clear that until more can be vaccinated, especially the 5-to-11 age group, parents of those children must remember that the pandemic is still very real.
“We’re still in the in the in the pandemic and those not immunized are at risk of contracting COVID, and that’s really what’s reflected in the case counts we’re seeing,” he said.
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