COVID-19: 13 new cases in Peterborough area; outbreak declared at Millbrook school

Peterborough Public Health reported 13 new cases of  COVID-19 in its jurisdiction on Tuesday and declared a school outbreak in Cavan-Monaghan Township.

The health unit’s COVID tracker update, issued at 4:45 p.m., shows 49 active cases of COVID-19 in the Ontario jurisdiction of Peterborough, Peterborough County, Hiawatha First Nation and Curve Lake First Nation. There were 45 active cases reported on Monday.

Other data from the regional health unit on Tuesday:

• Deaths: 25 since the pandemic was declared — the latest death was a woman in her 90s, which was reported Dec. 3.
• Outbreaks: Four active — An outbreak was declared late Monday at Millbrook/South Cavan Public School. The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board reported four cases at the school on Tuesday morning, up from one reported 24 hours earlier. Other active outbreaks for the health unit: Student Transportation of Canada bus route 627 in Peterborough (declared Dec. 2); Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School in Peterborough (declared Dec. 3) and at Rhema Christian School (declared Nov. 27). The health unit has had 361 cases associated with 63 outbreaks since the pandemic was declared — four more cases since Monday’s update.
• Cumulative confirmed cases: 2,068 since the pandemic was declared in March 2020.
• Variant of concern cases: 1,204 — 16 more since Monday’s update. The first variant case was reported Feb. 23 and the first confirmed Delta variant case was reported on June 19.
• Resolved cases: 1,994 — nine more cases since Monday. Resolved cases make up approximately 96.5 per cent of all cases.
• Close contacts: 415 — up from 392 reported on Monday. 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.
• Hospitalizations: 98 cases have required hospitalization since the pandemic began — one more since Monday. Peterborough Regional Health Centre late Monday reported three active COVID-19 admissions. The hospitalized cases make up approximately 4.7 per cent of all cases; 21 of the cases required the intensive care unit — unchanged since Nov. 23. ICU admissions make up 1.1 per cent of all the health unit’s cases since the pandemic’s beginning.
• COVID-19 exposure: 74.4 per cent of all cases (1,538) in the health unit’s jurisdiction are from contact with another existing case, 20.6 per cent (427 cases) are connected with community spread, 3.8 per cent (79 cases) are related to travel and 1.2 per cent (24 cases) have their source yet to be determined.
• Testing: More than 65,950 people have been tested for COVID-19 — approximately one in three residents. It’s an additional 50 since Monday’s update.
• Enforcement: Since Oct. 1, charges have been laid against a total of four businesses under the Reopening Ontario Act. Late Friday the health unit issued a Section 22 order and an Ontario Superior Court of Justice order to close PB’s Peterburgers restaurant on George Street North and that the premises be off access.

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The health unit releases its weekly vaccination rate data on Wednesdays. The most recent data can be found in this Global News Peterborough article.

Bookings for children ages five to 11 to receive a COVID-19 vaccine are available as well as third booster vaccinations. All appointments have to be booked on Ontario’s online portal or by calling the provincial vaccine booking call centre at 1-833-943-3900.

Walk-in clinic

A walk-in clinic at the Wilson Park Community Centre in Woodview will be held on Thursday, Dec. 9 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The clinic will offer first and second dose vaccinations for ages 12 and up. Booster/third doses must be booked in advance.

School clinics

The health unit will host a number of vaccination clinics for children at several Peterborough County schools. All clinics will be held outside of school hours. Clinics include:

• Friday, Dec. 10: Apsley Public School from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Friday, Dec. 17: St. Martin Catholic Elementary School in Ennismore from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Monday, Dec. 20: Millbrook/South Cavan Public School from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Wednesday, Dec. 29: Lakefield District Public School from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Education session

Medical officer of health Dr. Thomas Piggott is offering a free education session on the pediatric COVID-19 vaccine, streaming live on Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m. on the health unit’s YouTube channel. Piggott will be joined by Dr. Henry Ukpeh, a local pediatrician.

The Peterborough Victoria Northumberland Clarington Catholic District School Board as of 2:45 p.m. Tuesday reported nine active cases at schools within the health unit’s jurisdiction (school board does not indicate if cases involve students or staff. All schools remain open):

• 4 cases: St. Catherine Catholic Elementary School (unchanged) in Peterborough
• 2 cases: Holy Cross Secondary (outbreak declared, case total unchanged) in Peterborough
• 1 case: St. Paul Catholic Elementary School in Peterborough, Lakefield and Norwood (all cases unchanged)
• Resolved: A single case at St. Peter Secondary School in Peterborough reported resolved Tuesday.

The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board as of 10:55 a.m. Tuesday reported 13 active cases among its schools within the health unit’s jurisdiction. All schools with cases remain open (school board does not indicate if cases involve students or staff):

• 4 cases: Millbrook/South Cavan Public School (+3 since Monday, outbreak declared).
• 3 cases: Westmount Public School (+1)
• 2 cases: R.F. Downey Public School (-1) and Adam Scott Intermediate (+1), both in Peterborough
• 1 case: Queen Elizabeth Public School (unchanged) and Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School (unchanged), both in Peterborough

Trent University reported one active case at its Peterborough campus as of 3:30 p.m. Tuesday and none at its Durham campus. The case was first reported on Friday. The university reports that 96 per cent of students and 97 per cent of employees are fully vaccinated and zero per cent of students and zero per cent of staff are partially vaccinated.

Fleming College has not reported any cases at its Peterborough campus. The college will resume in-person classes and services in January 2022.

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.

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.