Coronavirus vaccine may not arrive locally until spring

City of Kawartha Lakes reports another death due to COVID -19; Six new cases in Northumberland County

For a third day in a row, there has been another death in the City of Kawartha Lakes of someone who had tested positive for COVID-19.

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit reported the death Friday afternoon, along with six new confirmed cases in Northumberland County, four in the City of Kawartha Lakes and two in Haliburton County.

Dr. Ian Gemmill, the health unit’s acting medical officer of health, is urging residents in the jurisdiction to do everything they can to stop the spread of the virus.

“We too are seeing record numbers in our local area, and it is very worrisome,” Gemmill stated. “Please don’t become complacent about this virus. It is very real and has caused deaths in the vulnerable, even in this area.”

The health unit may not get its COVID-19 vaccine doses until spring, according to Gemmill, because the province is focusing on vaccinating residents and staff in long-term-care and retirement homes in areas of the province with the highest numbers of cases in the first phase of its vaccination plan.

The deaths of a man in his 70s and a woman in her 70s, who had tested positive for COVID-19 in the City of Kawartha Lakes, were also reported on Wednesday and Thursday.

There was also a death about a week ago in Northumberland County of a woman in her 60s who had tested positive.

None of the four deaths are related, according to the health unit, but all were high-risk contacts of a confirmed case.

The latest death is the 38th of the pandemic for the jurisdiction and the 35th in the City of Kawartha Lakes, with most of the earlier deaths associated with the outbreak early on in the pandemic at Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon.

“I want to offer my deepest condolences to those families who have lost loved ones during this pandemic,” Gemmill stated. “It is a very sad time for so many people.”

Four cases in the City of Kawartha Lakes, three in Northumberland County and three in Haliburton County have recovered, the health unit also reported Friday, resulting in 79 active cases.

There have now been 627 cumulative confirmed cases in the jurisdiction, with the City of Kawartha Lakes topping the 300 mark at 303 cases with 42 active, Northumberland County at 288 with 33 active and Haliburton County at 36 with four active.

The jurisdiction also has one other case that has not been counted because the county of residence had not yet been determined, the health unit also reported Friday.

The jurisdiction now has a cumulative rate of 331.8 cases per 100,000 people, less than a quarter of the provincial cumulative average of 1,459.9 cases per 100,000 people as of Friday.

The health unit is monitoring 61 people in Northumberland County, 49 in the City of Kawartha Lakes and seven in Haliburton County who are considered to be at high risk due to close contact with a confirmed case, along with 16 other high-risk contacts.

Gemmill is urging people to follow the public health recommendations:

Stay home except for essential travel; do not socialize with people outside of your household, except by phone or computer.

Stay home if you are sick. Wear a mask when you need to be out in public.

Maintain a physical distance of two metres from others; and wash your hands frequently and thoroughly.

“Our actions affect other people,” Gemmill stated. “If you choose to get together with friends and you get the virus, you could just experience mild symptoms and recover. You could also spread the virus to someone else who is older and more vulnerable, and they may not be so lucky.”

Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay had four admitted patients with the virus as of Friday.

An outbreak was declared Dec. 31at Hope Street Terrace, a 97-unit Southbridg e Care Homes long-term-care facility in Port Hope, where one resident and one staff member have tested positive, and another was declared Jan. 1 at a Christian Horizons group home in Cobourg.

The Central East Correctional Centre provincial superjail in Lindsay had one active inmate case as of Friday, plus two inmates who tested positive and have now recovered, along with another three inmates who tested positive earlier and have since been released, according to Public Health Ontario.

The Warkworth Institution federal prison south of Campbellford has one active inmate case and two recovered inmate cases. A total of 1,028 tests for the virus have been given to inmates as o f T h u r s d a y, Correctional Service Canada reported.

About 600 older, medically vulnerable federal inmates across Canada will be vaccinated.