COVID-19: Peterborough vaccination rate at nearly 80%; outbreak at St. Catherine Catholic Elementary

Peterborough Public Health reported eight new cases of  COVID-19 and another school outbreak in its jurisdiction on Wednesday.

The health unit’s COVID tracker update, issued at 4:45 p.m., shows 48 active cases of COVID-19, down from 49 reported on Tuesday in the health unit’s jurisdiction of Peterborough, Peterborough County, Hiawatha First Nation and Curve Lake First Nation.

The health unit releases its weekly vaccination rate data on Wednesdays. This week’s data:

All eligible residents (ages 5 and up; first time data)

• 82.8 per cent had received a first vaccine dose
• 79.1 per cent had received a first and second dose — fully vaccinated
• 6.9 per cent had received a third dose

Youth (ages 5-11): 19.5 per cent had received a first vaccine dose (first time data has been reported)

Youth (ages 12-17):

• 80.7 per cent had received a first vaccine dose
• 76.8 per cent had received a first and second dose — fully vaccinated
• 0.2 per cent had received a third dose (up from 0.2 per cent on Dec 1.

Adults (ages 18 and up):

• 88.1 per cent had received a first vaccine dose (up from 87.6 per cent on Dec. 1)
• 85.7 per cent had received a first and second dose — fully vaccinated (up from 85.3 per cent on Dec. 1)
• 7.9 per cent had received a third dose (up from 5.8 per cent on Dec. 1)

Older adults (ages 70 and up): 

• 100 per cent had received a first vaccine dose (up from 95.4 on Dec. 1)
• 100 per cent had received a first and second dose — fully vaccinated (up from 95.4 per cent on Dec. 1)
• 23.2 per cent had received a third dose (up from 15.4 per cent on Dec. 1)

To date, the health unit reports that 245,714 doses of vaccine have been administered locally — an additional 4,687 doses since the Dec. 1 update. The health unit says 117,256 residents have received a first dose (+1,646 since Dec. 1) while 112,043 residents have received their second dose (+252). As well, 9,772 residents have received their third dose (+2,657).

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.

Walk-in and school clinics

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.

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.

Bookings for children ages five to 11 to receive a COVID-19 vaccine are available as well as third-dose/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.

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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.

The health unit reports the following five active outbreaks on Wednesday:

• St. Catherine Elementary School in Peterborough: Declared Wednesday, there are three active cases, according to the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland Clarington Catholic District School Board as of early Wednesday afternoon.
• Millbrook/South Cavan Public School in Millbrook: Declared late Monday, there are now five active cases associated with the outbreak, according to the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board as of Wednesday morning.
• Student Transportation of Canada bus route 627 in Peterborough: Declared Dec. 2, case details not provided.
• Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School in Peterborough: Declared Dec. 3, there are still two active cases, according to the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland Clarington Catholic District School Board as of early Wednesday afternoon.
• Rhema Christian School in Peterborough: Declared Nov. 27, case details have not been provided.

The health unit has had 364 cases associated with 64 outbreaks since the pandemic was declared — three more cases since Tuesday.

Other data from the regional health unit on Wednesday

• Deaths: 25 since the pandemic was declared — the latest death was a woman in her 90s, which was reported Dec. 3.
• Cumulative confirmed cases: 2,076 since the pandemic was declared in March 2020.
• Variant of concern cases: 1,206  — two more since Tuesday’s update. The health unit has not reported any Omicron variant cases. The first variant casein the region was reported Feb. 23 and the first confirmed Delta variant case was reported on June 19.
• Resolved cases: 2,003  — nine more cases since Tuesday. Resolved cases make up approximately 96.5 per cent of all cases.
• Close contacts: 486 — up from 415 reported on Tuesday. 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 — unchanged since Tuesday. Peterborough Regional Health Centre late Monday reported three active COVID-19 admissions (most recent data). 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: 74.5 per cent of all cases (1,547) in the health unit’s jurisdiction are from contact with another existing case, 20.6 per cent (428 cases) are connected with community spread, 3.8 per cent (79 cases) are related to travel and 1.1 per cent (22 cases) have their source yet to be determined.
• Testing: More than 66,050 people have been tested for COVID-19 — approximately one in three residents, up 100 since Tuesday’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.

The Peterborough Victoria Northumberland Clarington Catholic District School Board as of 1:45 p.m. Wednesday 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):

• 3 cases: St. Catherine Catholic Elementary School (-1) in Peterborough, outbreak declared.
• 2 cases: Holy Cross Secondary (outbreak declared, case total unchanged) in Peterborough and at St. Paul Catholic Elementary School in Norwood (+1).
• 1 case: St. Paul Catholic Elementary School in Peterborough and in Lakefield (both unchanged).

The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board as of 10:55 a.m. Wednesday reported 15 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):

• 5 cases: Millbrook/South Cavan Public School (+1 since Tuesday, outbreak declared).
• 4 cases: Westmount Public School (+1) in Peterborough.
• 2 cases: R.F. Downey Public School (unchanged) and Adam Scott Intermediate (unchanged), 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 4 p.m. Wednesday 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.