The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit says over the past week there were 36 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases and one new outbreak but no deaths reported.
The health unit’s COVID-19 dashboard reported the following data for the health unit’s jurisdiction of the City of Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County and Haliburton County as of Tuesday morning, covering Nov. 6 to Nov. 12:
Active lab-confirmed cases: 39 — down from 71 reported on Nov. 8 and 111 two weeks ago. Among the 39 active lab-confirmed cases are 20 in the City of Kawartha Lakes, 19 in Northumberland County and none in Haliburton County.
The province and health unit note that due to restrictions in provincial testing, the number of active cases is an “underestimate” of actual community spread.
Deaths: 142 lab-confirmed deaths since the pandemic was declared — unchanged since the Nov. 8 update.
Hospitalized cases: No new hospitalizations or intensive care admissions since the Nov. 8 update. There have been 244 hospitalized cases in 2022 and 414 since the pandemic was declared in 2020. There have been 38 ICU admissions this year thus far. Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reported four inpatients with COVID-19 as of noontime Monday — unchanged from a week ago. COVID-19 was not identified as the primary cause of admission for the four patients.
(Note: The health unit says there may be “reporting lags” on deaths, hospitalizations and ICU admissions that may not be included at the time of the dashboard publishing).
Cumulative cases: There have been 7,317 lab-confirmed cases in 2022 and 11,624 total cases since the pandemic was first declared. The City of Kawartha Lakes has led 2022 totals with 3,783 lab-confirmed cases. In Northumberland County, Cobourg leads municipalities with 816 lab-confirmed cases this year.
Vaccination: The health unit continues to host vaccine clinics across its jurisdiction. Visit the health unit’s website for an active list. To book an appointment call 1-833-943-3900 or book online.
Mask wearing
Medical officer health Dr. Natalie Bocking on Tuesday said she is strongly recommending that residents wear face masks in indoor public settings, including at schools and daycares, to help combat COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
“The focus has shifted from COVID-19 to the earlier than normal rise of RSV and influenza, where we are seeing higher numbers of seriously ill children than had been expected,” she stated. “Therefore, I support and strongly recommend wearing your mask at indoor public settings, including schools and childcare centres. It’s our children, the very young and vulnerable, that require our collective action right now.”
The health unit reported 45 new lab-confirmed cases of influenza from Nov. 6 to 12. Bocking noted that Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, on Monday also urged face masks to help curb the spread of the three respiratory illnesses that are contributing to pediatric hospitals dealing with a surge of sick children in recent weeks. The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto announced on Friday that it would be ramping down surgeries to redeploy staff to those areas.
“Vaccination against influenza remains especially important during this respiratory season,” Bocking said. “Children six months of age and older, pregnant individuals, families and caregivers with young children, healthcare workers and elderly, and those with underlying health conditions should get their flu shot as soon as possible.”
Outbreaks
The health unit reports outbreaks only in “high-risk settings.” Active outbreaks include:
- Palisade Gardens Retirement Home in Cobourg: Declared Nov. 10.
- Community Living Campbellford/Brighton group home: Declared Nov. 8.
Outbreaks recently declared over:
- Golden Plough Lodge in Cobourg: Facility-wide outbreak declared on Oct. 24 and lifted on Nov. 14.
- Victoria Manor long-term care in Lindsay: Declared on Nov. 4 and lifted on Nov. 14
- Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay: Facility-wide outbreak declared on Oct. 12. and lifted on Nov. 14.
- Extendicare Kawartha Lakes in Lindsay: Facility-wide outbreak declared on Oct. 18 and lifted on Nov. 12.
- Extendicare Cobourg — Pine unit — long-term care in Cobourg: Declared on Oct. 31 and lifted on Nov. 12.
- Campbellford Memorial Hospital: Declared on Oct. 27. Outbreak on the east wing of the inpatient unit lifted on Nov. 11.
- Community Living group home in Cobourg: Declared on Oct. 30 and lifted on Nov. 11.
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