This month, the COVID-19 case numbers in the region have more than doubled.
Today, 41 new cases of the virus were reported, bringing the total case count to 1,266.
At the start of May 2021, the overall case count was 627. This month, 639 have been reported so far.
“Throughout the pandemic I’ve said that we need to act as though exposure is possible and probable in every setting and in every community, every day regardless of the cases that are announced and never before has this been so absolutely true and critical,” said Porcupine Health Unit medical officer of health Dr. Lianne Catton today.
This afternoon, Timmins Mayor George Pirie, Catton and Timmins and District Hospital president and CEO Kate Fyfe gave an update on the pandemic in Timmins.
State of Emergency
A state of emergency was declared in Timmins on May 17. It's the second emergency declaration since the start of the pandemic.
“We are not ready to end the state of emergency,” said Mayor George Pirie. “Cases remain on the rise. We’ve had a number of notable workplace outbreaks. Staffing at the Porcupine Health Unit (PHU), Timmins and District Hospital (TADH) and Cochrane District Emergency Medical Services (CDEMS) remains fragile and could easily be impacted if cases continue to spread. It is imperative that we continue to follow all public health guidelines and get vaccinated. It’s the only way we’re getting through this."
While 65 per cent of eligible people have been vaccinated in the Porcupine Health Unit, he said Timmins' rate is lower at 56 per cent.
Hospital Seeing Increased Cases
As of 10 a.m. this morning, there were 17 patients with COVID-19 at Timmins and District Hospital (TADH), including three people in the ICU. There are also 35 admitted patients who are waiting for test results or who will be tested for COVID-19. The average age of admitted patients is 59 years.
More medical beds have also been opened and an additional hospitalist was brought in to help respond to the demand, according to Fyfe.
The bed capacity and ICU capacity are stable.
“However we continue to be extremely concerned about the increased rise in cases in our community. In the past week, our COVID-related admissions have doubled and we’re quickly seeing that number also increase again,” she said.
With an increase in demand for testing, the assessment centre run by the hospital opened up certain hours for walk-in testing clinics. Additional pop-up testing clinics across the city are also being planned.
'The focus is very much on our region'
With 333.2 cases per 100,000 population, the Porcupine Health Unit has the highest weekly case rate in the province.
Peel Region’s rate is 157.9 cases per 100,000 population for the same time period. Toronto Public Health’s rate is 96.2 cases per 100,000 people.
Catton said there hasn't been a failure by one particular group and that a communitywide response is needed.
“The focus is very much on our region right now and we definitely do not want to be in this state, but we have seen this happen across the province. We’ve just done extremely well until this point in time and I think to some degree that really does impact people’s responsiveness to the measures. I think sometimes there was a sense that we had done so well, that we were out of this, that this was not going to hit our region in this manner and sometimes you do see some complacency with that,” she said.
Many of the new cases are variants of concern, most notably the United Kingdom B.1.1.7 strain.
Variants of concern spread more easily. She noted interactions that didn't cause spread in the first wave are causing spread now.
Distancing, in addition to masking and other measures are needed to prevent the spread.
Two-dose Summer
Today, the province announced plans to allow Ontarians to get their second dose of the COVID vaccine sooner than expected.
The plan allows Ontarians to rebook “accelerated” second dose appointments as soon as 28 days after their first dose, where appointment availability and eligibility allows.
“We need to caution everyone that as many of the announcements have come forward, being eligible for a dose doesn’t mean that we have the vaccine or the opportunity for all of these doses immediately,” said Catton.
She asks for people to be patient as the health unit works through the second doses for people who are currently eligible for the shortened interval. She said that includes the urban Indigenous population, people with high-risk health conditions and high-risk healthcare workers.
“Right now first doses into arms is absolutely critical to increase our community level of protection and we will be working on the second dose strategy as well,” she said.
Reopening Schools
“It absolutely crushes me that unfortunately our numbers at this point in time simply do not support opening schools in our region,” said Catton.
Up until now, she said she's supported and shared messaging that schools should be the first to open and the last to close.
She said everyone's support and extra diligence to recommit to the public health measures is needed in order to look at reopening schools at some point.
Vaccination Blitz
A vaccination blitz in Timmins held over May Run saw 2,175 people receive their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
“Which is phenomenal and great. Did we have capacity to do more? We did so it would have been great to have even more come out, but we knew that on a long weekend especially with nice weather that that would be a challenge,” said Catton.
There are upcoming clinics across the region. Find out more about those here.
