Temper optimism with continued diligence.
That was the key message from Peterborough medical officer of health Dr. Rosana Salvaterra during Peterborough Public Health media briefing held on Tuesday (June 1), as the number of local active COVID-19 cases has plummeted alongside reported new cases of the virus.
As of Monday (May 31) at 4:30 p.m., the number of active cases in Peterborough city and county, Curve Lake and Hiawatha was reported as 47 — a huge decrease of 33 from the previous Friday. The number of close contacts of positive cases being monitored has also dropped significantly and now stands at 147, 57 less than what was reported Friday.
“We’ve had six straight days with single-digit new case counts,” said Dr. Salvaterra. “Considerably more cases are resolving than new ones are being reported, so we’re on the positive side of this. It certainly appears that our third wave has crested.”
While May brought the second highest number of new cases for a single month at 272, the weekly new case count has dropped consistently from 91 during the week of May 10 to last week’s total of 41.
Tragically, however, an increase has been seen as of late in the number of COVID-related deaths, the latest being that of a 67-year-old man who died on Sunday, bringing the total number of deaths since the pandemic began to 21. And the number of outbreaks has risen to four, the latest one being reported at Riverview Manor where two staff members became infected.
In his remarks during Tuesday’s briefing, Peterborough board of health chair and Selwyn mayor Andy Mitchell echoed Dr. Salvaterra’s optimism but not without a clear warning.
“All of this is good news but the reality is we’re at a crossroads,” Mitchell said. “Go too slowly and people’s exhaustion and the economic hurt will push people to ignore the rules and make their own. Go too fast and we risk a resurgence that will only prolong the return to normalcy. As encouraging as the news is, it’s important that we all continue to be vigilant. If we go too fast we will take longer to reach our destination.”
With the number of people tested for the virus having dropped to 450 last week from about 700 weekly earlier this month, Dr. Salvaterra countered the possibility that fewer new cases being detected is a result of less testing.
“The first hypothesis is fewer people are sick or fewer people have been in contact with cases,” Dr. Salvaterra said. “Both might indeed be true. We’ve seen the case count drop. With case counts dropping, the number of people who are identified as high-risk contacts has also dropped. We typically have to send all of those folks for testing at least twice during their self-isolation period. So right there, you have an explanation.”
Dr. Salvaterra added ongoing wastewater surveillance provides a much clearer indication of more or less COVID-19 in the community than the testing of residents.
“That (surveillance results) doesn’t depend on people going to get tested. If you use a toilet, you are part of that wastewater surveillance. It’s a much more reliable source of information. We continue to watch those numbers and will be presenting the latest data later this week.”
On the vaccination front, Dr. Salvaterra confirmed at least 60 per cent of eligible residents have received at least a first dose of vaccine. As of 5 p.m. last Thursday, 79,150 vaccine doses had been administered locally, 72,120 of those going into residents’ arms with 6,659 having received two doses and considered fully vaccinated. These numbers will be updated this Friday (June 4).
“There is more demand than we have (vaccine) supply,” said Dr. Salvaterra, repeating what has become a regular refrain since vaccines were made available.
“For our senior residents who are over 80 years of age who are now eligible for a second dose, I know you must be frustrated. We did not have any appointments open yesterday but we are hoping to post (more appointments) as soon as we get confirmation of supply.”
Local pharmacies, added Dr. Salvaterra, will play “a larger role in our vaccine rollout in the weeks and months to come. We’re seeing their supply increase steadily.”
Peterborough Public Health communications manager Brittany Cadence outlined how the provincial booking system at www.ontario.ca/bookvaccine works for those seeking a second dose appointment at a pharmacy.
“You receive two options. Option A is to book through the provincial system that takes you to one of the mass immunization clinics run by Peterborough Public Health while option B lets you choose a participating pharmacy.”
During the briefing, Dr. Salvaterra received word that the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) has just approved the mixing and matching of vaccines, meaning people can get a second dose of vaccine that is different from AstraZeneca.
“If you received AstraZeneca, you can choose to have a second dose of AstraZeneca or have either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. That is in writing now.”
Starting on June 14, those 70 to 79 years of age can begin booking their second dose appointments. The following weeks will see eligibility to book second dose appointment opened to lower age groups.
With the goal of 60 per cent of eligible residents vaccinated now reached, Dr. Salvaterra isn’t setting a specific target date for the 70 per cent mark.
“As soon as possible,” she offered, adding “The more vaccine that the province can give us, the faster we’ll go. We have additional capacity when we look at the PRHC (Peterborough Regional Health Centre) clinic and we look at pharmacies and family doctors and nurse practitioners. We still have some extra room to go. All we need is the vaccine.”
Also commenting during Tuesday’s briefing was Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien.
