Good news isn’t found exclusively in no news — sometimes it can be found in actual news.
Peterborough’s medical officer of health Dr. Rosanna Salvaterra had plenty of good news to share Monday (June 7) during her Peterborough Public Health media briefing, both on the new case count and vaccination fronts.
As of Sunday at 4:30 p.m., the number of active cases in Peterborough city and county, Curve Lake, and Hiawatha was reported as 29 — a significant decrease of 18 since last Tuesday. Even more telling was last week’s new case count total of 26, the lowest one-week new case total since the week of February 8 when 21 new cases were detected.
Meanwhile, the number of close contacts of positive cases being monitored has also dropped in a big way and now stands at 80, 67 less than what was reported last Tuesday.
“The light at the end of the tunnel is continuing to brighten,” said Dr. Salvaterra.
“The decline in cases is supported by our most recent wastewater surveillance data that shows persistent but low levels of the virus here. The cases that we are identifying are screening as the B.1.1.7. variant (first identified in the UK), now known as the Alpha variant. So far we have not see any cases due to the Delta variant (B.1.617, first identified in India) locally.”
The good news continues on the outbreak front, with Dr. Salvaterra reporting the outbreak at Fairhaven Long-Term Care Home over, with ongoing outbreaks at Riverview Manor and a workplace setting “stable.”
While delighted with the downward trend in infection numbers, Dr. Salvaterra said she would have liked to have seen the trend sooner than now.
“When you look at when the stay-at-home order was introduced, this has been awhile in coming. It’s taken us a lot longer to get to this point than we wished. Yes, it’s very welcome news to see those numbers finally drop and stay down for more than a few days, but I will be much more confident when I’ve seen 14 days of consistent low numbers.”
Dr. Salvaterra said “the more data we have, the more confident we can be we’re headed in a downward curve. In Peterborough we’ve had well more than a week of single-digit daily increases. That certainly makes me more confident that we may be ready, but I am fearful.”
During the briefing, the Ontario government announced the first step of its reopening plan will now take place on Friday (June 11), three days earlier than scheduled.
“The incubation period for COVID-19 is 14 days,” Dr. Salvaterra pointed out, not yet aware of the province’s reopening announcement. “I would love to see 14 days of steady decline before a reopening. It’s the premier’s call. As long as we’re all clear on what public health measures need to continue, that’s really what’s going to ensure that we have a safe reopening.”
As for vaccination progress, Dr. Salvaterra confirmed at least 69.5 per cent of eligible residents aged 18 and over have received at least a first dose of vaccine — an increase of close to 10 per cent from just a week ago.
“As of the end of the day yesterday, 85,166 local residents had received their first dose. There are also now more than 12,000 residents who are fully vaccinated. As for youth 12 to 17 years old, we’re showing about 24 per cent have now received their first dose.”
“These numbers are terrific, but we estimate that we still have more than 36,000 adults over the age of 18 in the Peterborough area who still need their first dose, and we have about 6,000 adolescents aged 12 to 17 who are still not vaccinated. We have some work to do, but we’re doing really well.”
Dr. Salvaterra added 9,000 appointments are available in June for adults, for their first or second dose, and 2,500 appointments available for youth vaccination clinics scheduled for June 15, 16, and 17. Still, there remains more demand for vaccine than there is supply.
“We’re still receiving just more than 8,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine each week, but may see that decline a bit,” Dr. Salvaterra said. “But we’re seeing our Moderna vaccine allocation increase as more arrives.”
As for those who received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine from their primary care provider and prefer to wait for a second dose of that vaccine, as opposed to receiving either Pfizer or Moderna for their second dose, Dr. Salvaterra said they will receive an email this week with a link to book a second dose appointment at the 12-week interval. Primary care providers will be staffing special AstraZeneca clinics at the Evinrude Centre vaccination clinic for that purpose.
“Patients without an email address can phone their primary care provider the week of June 21 to schedule an appointment for their second dose,” said Dr. Salvaterra.
“If you were vaccinated with AstraZeneca but prefer to take a second dose of one of the messenger RNA vaccines (Moderna or Pfizer) instead, you can now book that second dose appointment through the provincial booking system at www.ontario.ca/bookvaccine.”
Also commenting during Monday’s briefing were Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef and Peterborough board of health chair and Selwyn mayor Andy Mitchell.
“The next three weeks are critical,” said Mayor Mitchell. “If you haven’t yet been vaccinated and you are eligible, please get vaccinated, including your second dose when the time comes. And when the reopening begins, be cautious. It’s not a wholesale return to business as usual.”
