Health information

Non-essential travel still discouraged by public health

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health (HPEPH) updated the public Thursday as Dr. Ethan Toumishey hosted the eighth weekly Facebook Live session on the COVID-19 outbreak. The public are encouraged to post questions at facebook.com/hpepublichealth to be answered during the weekly live broadcasts (videos are posted at this link after each broadcast). Dr. Toumishey began by recognizing National Nursing Week, which runs May 11 to 17. “I want to recognize all the incredible efforts done by nurses, both in HPEPH and all the other settings that nurses work, and it is a crucial part of the team for our work to be able to perform our public health functions,” he said.

Dr. Toumishey noted 72,536 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada, 21,494 in Ontario, and 42 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties, with the number of deaths in HPE remaining unchanged at five. In HPE, there are 182 probable cases, and 5,312 tests have been administered. He said the last lab-confirmed case determined in HPE was on May 1, noting that was 13 days ago. He said public health are working closely with their partners to ensure testing is made available to those who need it. Detailed statistical data can be found at the HPEPH COVID-19 Dashboard on the HPEPH website which is updated Monday to Friday (current data appears at the end of this article). In this week’s update, Dr. Toumishey spoke to healthy eating, assessment, and the provincial re-opening plan.

ASSESSMENT
“Public health is working closely with Ontario health partners, such as hospitals and primary care providers to ensure that assessment and testing is available for those who need it,” said Toumishey. “We encourage anyone that is ill or believes they may have been exposed to COVID- 19 to seek assessment.” Assessment centres can be found in Picton, Belleville, Trenton and Bancroft, where Dr. Toumishey said the public can self-refer, or for those with questions, the HPEPH website and information line can be accessed.

HEALTHY EATING
Dr. Toumishey said this week they have been promoting the importance of healthy eating during the pandemic. “It is important to note that there are no foods, diets, supplements or natural health products that have been proven to boost the immune system or reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19 specifically.” He also noted the Government of Canada has not approved any product to prevent, treat or cure COVID-19. “Selling unauthorized products or making false or misleading claims that prevent, cure or treat COVID-19 is illegal in Canada,” he added.

Toumishey said choosing a variety of foods that you enjoy that suit your mood and budget can help keep you mentally and physically well during this pandemic. “In keeping with Canada’s Food Guide, a variety of vegetables and fruit, protein and whole grains can help our bodies get the nutrients they need and promote overall health,” he said. “The pandemic means we are grocery shopping less, and eating more at home, which can be challenging.” Information on making food supplies stretch further, as well ideas and tips on cooking with children can be found on the HPEPH website.

COVID-19 COMPLICATIONS
In answering a question about complications of COVID-19 with regards to blood oxygen levels, Dr. Toumishey said, “We see this affecting respiratory tract, initially upper respiratory then progressing down into lower respiratory tract, going into the lungs, where we see quite significant pneumonia in a good number of patients. One the markers of severe infection is when people become hypoxic, so they are not able to get enough oxygen into their blood and is one of the vital signs we are looking for.” He said the rate of people with severe infection is low and affects mostly older individuals.

PHASED RE-OPENING
Dr. Toumishey noted the Ontario premier had provided an update just 30 minutes prior to the broadcast on phase one of the re-opening, and said they were still looking at the announcement as details were still coming in. He noted additional areas such as outdoor parks, campgrounds, recreational facilities, golf courses and marinas would be opening from Saturday (May 16). From Tuesday (May 19), there will be further steps toward phase one of the re-opening plan for Ontario. He suggests people look at the Province of Ontario website, which has extensive resources on a wide variety of sector-specific guidelines for best practices.

“We are looking for success in the phased reopening approach, which will depend on continued collaboration between the public, municipal partners, business partners, healthcare partners as well as the public health side,” said Toumishey. “I would like to highlight the success that has already been seen from that collaboration, and that continued collaboration is going to be crucial as we move through these new phases.” He indicated with warmer weather approaching, there are concerns about people travelling and what that might do for people in the community. “We are echoing from the provincial direction: we are discouraging non-essential travel within the province,” he said, also noting the continuation of restrictions regarding the size of social gatherings remains at five people.

“As we look to re-opening in general, we continue to be vigilant to maintain the safety for areas that have had lower levels of COVID-19 transmission, such as here, and the interaction of areas that may have had higher.” Dr. Toumishey noted there is no specific date that has been set for the progression of the phases for re-opening from phase one to subsequent phases of the re-opening plan. “From the provincial level, they will be examining the trends that we see and we will be doing that from a local level as well.”

AVOIDING TRANSMISSION
One question asked if it was likely to see an increase in new confirmed cases from the long weekend, but Toumishey said the degree of travel is unknown and there were only a limited number of outdoor recreation sites open with low risk of COVID-19 transmission, with most re-opening scheduled for after the long weekend. “As we are practising right now, we have to watch and expect and look for new cases, whether it’s the long weekend or not,” he said. “Our continued push is to be vigilant, and increasingly vigilant, for any new cases.” In a media release Thursday, HPEPH public health physician Dr. Alexa Caturay said, “Physical distancing efforts have helped slow the spread of COVID-19 across the province, but we can’t let up yet.”

“The principles are crucial for limiting community transmission: physical distancing, hand hygiene, and get assessed and tested if you are sick,” said Toumishey. “As we progress further into re-opening, we will continue to test for COVID-19 as we may expect that there are new cases arise, but it’s a risk that we have to plan for and we are continuing to watch for.” He said there are no specific requirements for people to wear masks in public, but noted there may be places where physical distancing is not possible. “Let’s all stay together by staying apart,” he concluded.

COVID-19 STATISTICS (AT MAY 19):
Lab-confirmed cases: 78,488 (Canada); 23,384 (ONT); 42 (HPE)* ** ***; 5-9 (PEC)+

* Transmission cause: Travel: 14; close contact: 7; community: 21

** 12/42: Long-term care residents; 8/42: health care workers

*** Age 60 and over: 31% female/19% male; Age 40- 59: 24% female/7% male; Age 20-39: 10% female/10% male (no cases aged 19 and under)

+ In rural communities where numbers are low, a range is given to ensure anonymity

Probable cases: 182 (HPE); 38 (PEC)

Individuals tested: 1,331,173 (Canada); 541,489 (ONT); 5,783 (HPE) [In HPE: 3.4% of population tested, with 0.8% positivity (42 individuals)]

Hospitalized (HPE): 1 (in ICU: 0; on ventilator: 0)

Facility outbreaks (HPE): Hallowell House, Picton (respiratory)

Deceased: 5,857 (Canada); 1,919 (ONT); 5 (HPE w/3 long-term care)

Recovered: 29 (HPE)

Resources: hpepublichealth.ca, ontario.ca and canada.ca.

HPEPH COVID-19 Information Line: 613.966.5500 or 1.800.267.2803 (5 days a week).

thecounty.ca/county-residents/covid-19/

County COVID-19 Help Line: 1.833-676.2148 (5 days a week).