By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
At this week’s COVID-19 media scrum, Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit Medical Officer of Health Dr. Natalie Bocking had good news.
“Continued cautious optimism is the key word,” she said.
“We are continuing to see improvement across indicators in terms of decreasing transmission of COVID-19 across all three regions of the HKPR jurisdiction,” Dr. Bocking stated, citing a decrease in the daily numbers of lab-confirmed cases, a test positivity rate that has been about 10% for a couple of weeks, the fact that there are only eight monitored outbreaks (only two of them in long-term-care and retirement homes), and a “significant decline” in waste-water viral indicators in Cobourg.
Waste-water indicators in Lindsay showed a slight rise last week, she added, “but certainly not at the level it previously was at the height of the Omicron wave.
“We are not at the level we were prior to the Omicron wave, but we are certainly in a much better position than we were a few weeks ago.”
Dr. Bocking cited hospital indicators as of Jan. 1, a date chosen to ensure stats reflect the impact of the Omicron variant.
Of 62 people admitted to hospital for COVID in that time, she said only three of them were admitted in the past week – a decrease in the rate of admissions. And the other two stats show no increase over the past week, she noted. The number of ICU admissions remains at 13, and the number of deaths has not risen from 23.
Of the HKPR population aged 18 and up, 60.2% have both shots plus booster. And of the population aged five to 11, 47.6% have their first dose.
“These numbers continue to increase, but much, much more slowly than what we saw a couple of weeks ago.”
In that connection, she noted that the health unit has just announced the closure of its two biggest health-unit-led mass-immunization clinics – in Cobourg and Lindsay on Feb. 26 and Feb. 25 respectively – though smaller weekly clinics in Fenelon Falls and Minden will continue.
Dr. Bocking took a moment to honour the many partners that made the Cobourg and Lindsay clinics such a success – their municipal partners, primary-care providers and other health-care professionals who administered the shots, and the organizers on the ground whose work and volunteers made it all go smoothly (with a special shout-out she gave to the Rotary Club of Cobourg for their work at the Cobourg Community Centre).
Many opportunities for shots will continue, such as clinics that will start up in HKPR offices in Port Hope and Lindsay, “dates and times to be confirmed.”
Many pharmacies and primary-care providers will continue to offer shots. And school-based clinics, held both during school hours and after hours, will offer the opportunity for vaccination to students, staff and members of their households.
Dr. Bocking reviewed recent changes in provincial guidance, such as the eligibility of 12-to-17-year-olds for booster shots as of Friday. The recommendation is that these booster shots should be administered six months after a second shot – a contrast to the most recent guidance for those over 18, for whom the minimum gap between second and third shot is three months.
This week’s loosening of such public-health measures as the lifting of capacity limits is “certainly a much-welcomed announcement,” Dr. Bocking said – “for all of our key businesses and employers across the region, as well as families, community members, community organizations, everyone looking forward to a time when we are less concerned with COVID.”
Still, she added, “I would encourage people to be aware that COVID-19 is still in the community. We are certainly at a much better place than we were at the peak of Omicron, but we are not quite back at the levels prior to Omicron at all.
“We will likely continue to see some ongoing transmission. It might increase a little bit with the lifting of capacity limits – with the key being that our health-care system will be able to accommodate it.”
Dr. Bocking urged a cautious reaction to all the changes.
“Don’t, in your enthusiasm, throw out all the measures we know have helped protect our community members and our loved ones for the past two years. Continue the ones that have worked well, as we start to ease up on the others.”
For example, people (like the elderly and the immuno-compromised) at risk of a more severe case of COVID might be well advised to continue masking in certain circumstances, since no vaccine can promise 100% protection against a virus.
And referencing Premier Doug Ford’s remark that businesses will still have the option to require QR-code vaccination passports, Dr. Bocking speculated that some businesses may wish to consider their clientele in this decision. For example, a business whose primary trade comes from older people, may retain this system and perhaps even use the retention as a promotional tool.
She was not so sure that Ford’s proclamation that Ontario is done with COVID tells the whole story.
“I think, from everyone’s perspective, what I am hearing is that people are kind of tired of COVID. Everyone is tired of public-health measures. Everyone is tired of public health always talking and reminding them,” she said.
“COVID-19, as a virus, doesn’t really care when we are done with it. It’s certainly still here, and will be for quite some time. It’s really up to us to be responsible to look after our community and continue to pay attention. As much as we want to be done with it, it’s not something we can close the cupboard on just yet.”
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
