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The COVID-19 situation is at such a critical point at the Porcupine Health Unit that we do not want to confirm whether the lockdown could end on June 14, as in the rest of the province.
On Monday, the health unit, which includes the cities of Timmins, Hearst and Kapuskasing, among others, reported 18 new cases and seven cases the next day, in addition to having 326 active cases. A total of 40 cases were reported on Sunday, including 18 in the Timmins area. The situation in Porcupine makes it the epicenter of COVID-19 in Ontario, reporting nearly three times as many active cases per 100,000 population as areas like Toronto and York.
These current numbers suggest that the district may not be prepared to allow the reopening of terraces, outdoor gatherings and the reopening of some non-essential businesses on June 14 as across Ontario. If justified by data, the local office’s chief medical officer of health, Liane Catton would have the authority, under emergency measures law, to extend certain restrictions. Just before the third wave, some health units in southern Ontario made the decision to close schools, going against provincial guidelines.
“We’ll have to wait to see what happens with the cases, transmission, outbreaks of COVID-19, etc. There are still two weeks left before June 14, so things can change, but we will definitely assess the situation and put strategies and interventions in place to protect the situation, ”says Chantal Riopel, head nurse of the department. Porcupine Health Unit.
By way of comparison, the health unit had an average of 1 case per day in March and its highest number of cases during the whole month was 3. For the moment, we say we do not want to advance on what. could happen once in mid June.
“We will do an assessment of all the factors to make a decision to protect our communities,” said Ms. Riopel.
The latter indicates that several indicators will have to be down to determine whether to ease the rules or extend the confinement after June 14.
“We monitor the data, but we don’t have a figure as such in mind. We want to see that it is decreasing, again how it is decreasing, what is the number of outbreaks, what is exposure to COVID-19 and where are the cases. There are several factors that we want to evaluate. It’s not just a number at the end. At the end of the day, what we want to see is really an assessment of all the factors that influence the transmission of cases in the community. “
Younger and younger cases
Dr. Canton says vaccination is going well as 65% of adults 18 and over in the region have received at least one dose. The doctor says it is essential that the youngest get vaccinated.
“The majority of our cases are increasingly young people. Those between 30 and 35 years old are the majority of our cases. We see that our vaccination is increasing in the elderly who are vaccinated and that our cases are also decreasing, ”said Chief Doctor Liane Catton.
To solve the problem, the office claims to try to reach as much as possible the younger population, but admits that the situation is not the simplest.
“It’s really difficult during a provincial lockdown because the young people don’t go much to places in the community, because everything is closed. Even the schools are closed, the students are at home. “
For Chantal Riopel, the next two weeks “are crucial and very important” for the local health unit.
“We ask for another little crush from the population to follow the measures of Public Health so that when June 14 arrives, that we also at the health office can take advantage of the withdrawal of certain health measures. “
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