Peterborough’s medical officer of health pulled no punches during a Peterborough Public Health media briefing held Thursday (December 16), warning that pandemic fatigue will lead to an unprecedented rise of COVID-19 cases over the coming weeks.

During a Peterborough Public Health media briefing on Thursday afternoon, a visibly emotional Dr. Thomas Piggott acknowledged that “people are tired of COVID” but warned that “this complacency, this fatigue, is coming at exactly at the wrong time.”

“It’s coming when we need people to be the most careful at the darkest moment of the pandemic to date,” said Dr. Piggott. “With no additional measures, we are about to see exponential growth in this province of omicron cases. With no additional measures, we will see up to 10,000 cases a day in Ontario by the end of the month, which may translate to hundreds of cases in our region.”

“We know the measures and we know what to do, but the pieces that we can control at Peterborough Public Health are only so much,” he said. “The decisions that people will make coming into the holidays are really what will impact our trajectory over the next couple of months.”

“I am worried, and it takes a lot to worry me. I’ve worked in a conflict zone, I’ve worked in an emergency department, but I have not been as worried as I am right now with the omicron wave of COVID approaching. I’m concerned that people aren’t nearly concerned enough, and I’m concerned what that will mean for our community.”

An update on COVID-19 modelling projections issued Thursday morning by Ontario’s COVID-19 science advisory table backs up Dr. Piggott’s concern.

According to that update, omicron has overtaken delta as the dominant variant in the province. As well, despite what has been widely reported to the contrary, there is evidence that the omicron variant can indeed produce severe disease, prompting a warning that Ontario hospital ICU occupancy could reach “unsustainable” levels by early January.

With vaccines less effective again omicron, the focus is now on increasing the availability of booster shots for those who are eligible in combination with stronger public health measures.

Dr. Piggott reported that there are now four cases of the omicron variant in the region among the current 59 active cases — two first reported Tuesday and another two reported yesterday (Wednesday). To date this week, since Monday morning, 23 new local cases have been detected locally. Meanwhile, the number of local COVID-related deaths reported remains at 27.

There are currently active outbreaks at St. Catherine Catholic Elementary School on Glenforest Boulevard in Peterborough and at Millbrook/South Cavan Public School, while a third outbreak is associated with STC school bus route 627.

“The most important thing that we can keep doing is vaccination — you need a third dose to now consider yourself protected,” said Dr. Piggott. “We have been scaling up our efforts, and diverting all our attention and resources, to vaccinating. Because we know, with what is coming, booster vaccinations will save lives. We have stopped nearly everything that we can in order to divert resources into this.”

Dr. Piggott said that effort has resulted in a six-fold increase in the number of clinic vaccination appointments that will be available next week. With the interval between the second and third shot now decreased to three months from six, it’s anticipated that appointments will be booked much quicker now.

“If you are able to get your third dose booster, I implore you — get it as soon as you can,” said Dr. Piggott. “I want the public to understand that this is a three-dose vaccine. You should not consider yourself fully protected with two doses.”

That said, Dr. Piggott emphasized vaccination alone isn’t the answer in itself, advising that other public health measures — proper masking, physical distancing, testing, and staying home from work if ill among them — must be continued with a new purpose.

The overall vaccination picture again shows modest increases across the board.

As of late Wednesday afternoon, 83.7 per cent of eligible residents aged five and up have received one dose while 79.3 per cent have received two doses and 11.3 per cent have received a third booster shot.

Meanwhile, first dose vaccination of local children aged five to 11 has seen a huge uptake this week, now at 29.5 per cent. With no walk-ins being taken, parents and guardians must book a vaccination appointment. Visit www.peterboroughpublichealth.ca/clinics for a listing of locations and times of clinics.

To date, 11.3 per cent of eligible local residents have received a third booster shot. Those seeking a third shot can book an appointment online at covid19.ontariohealth.ca or by phone at 1-833-943-3900. Walk-ins will not be accommodated. Some local pharmacies are also offering booster shots.

Starting Monday, all Ontarians aged 18 and over can schedule their booster dose appointment, three months after their second dose. Those aged 50 and over who have already booked their booster dose for six months after their second dose can also rebook their appointments to the shortened three-month interval.

With the holiday season fast approaching, Dr. Piggott says the potential for a huge increase in cases is very real. That, he says, may result in more restrictive measures being put in place sooner than later.

“We’re trying to be as minimally impactful on the economy and on society as much as possible while protecting the public,” he said. “The areas where we’re seeing the most transmission is in certainly public businesses and gathering sites, especially where people are eating and drinking and not wearing masks, as well as in private gatherings.”

“There are parties and things happening where people are forgetting the reality of the situation,” Dr. Piggott added. “We are actively looking at measures that could be put in place to provide the protection that we need.”

Also participating in the briefing were Peterborough mayor Diane Therrien, county warden J. Murray Jones, and Selwyn mayor and Board of Health chair Andy Mitchell.

Omicron is now the dominant variant in Ontario and will likely result in the “hardest wave” of the pandemic in Ontario, according to modelling projections presented by Ontario’s COVID-19 science advisory table on Thursday (December 16).

Cases will dramatically increase and, if no additional public health measures are taken, could reach 10,000 per day by the new year. With additional public health measures, the number of new daily cases is projected to reach 5,000 by the beginning of the new year, with as many as 300 people in intensive care units.

“We’re still learning about this new variant,” said Adalsteinn Brown, co-chair of the science advisory table, at a media conference on Thursday morning. “It emerged only last month, but it’s important to talk about what we do know. First, it transmits incredibly fast. Doubling time for cases may be down to just over two days now, compared to four days or more with previous variants.”

“The broad picture of being highly transmissible and serious is clear,” Brown said. “Modelling shows that cases will likely dramatically increase very soon.”

Referring to data from South Africa and Denmark, Brown said the omicron variant does cause serious disease and needs to be treated as seriously as the delta variant.

“Hospital rates have risen in South Africa where it first took hold,” Brown said. “It’s not just a case of the sniffles.”

According to Brown, the province can expect to see hospitalizations increase two to three weeks after cases increase. Even if omicron is 25 per cent less serious than delta, Ontario hospitals will still face “incredibly strong pressures,” he added.

“This will come at an already challenging time, when health care workers are fatigued or burned out from the preceding waves. If we want to blunt this wave — please note that I am saying blunt it, not flatten it — we will need to reduce contacts between people. I believe we can do this without closing schools or shutting down businesses that have suffered during previous waves, but it will take serious restrictions that reduce contact.”

PDF: Update on COVID-19 Projections (December 15, 2021)
Update on COVID-19 Projections (December 15, 2021)

“At the same time, we need to drive boosters up as high as possible to protect vulnerable individuals and vulnerable communities and we need to keep vaccinating kids,” Brown said. “But neither public health measures nor vaccinations will be enough on their own to blunt the omicron wave. Public health measures will slow the spread of omicron but they are not sustainable in the long run. Vaccination provides our exit plan from the pandemic, but it takes a while to take effect.”

Brown said that a “circuit breaker” with strong additional public health measures to reduce contacts between people by 50 per cent and at least 250,000 booster shots daily could blunt the omicron wave.

Those additional public health measures could include additional reductions in capacity limits and stronger enforcement of masking indoors, such as ensuring people wear masks properly.

“It’s not really any sort of new things that we haven’t seen before, it’s those core public health measures,” Brown said.

Wearing high-quality masks, physical distancing indoors, improved ventilation, and increased access to rapid testing will buy time for boosters to take effect, he said.

“This will likely be the hardest wave of the pandemic,” Brown noted. “But if we can control it and drive vaccinations as hard as we can, we can make it to the exit. And there is an exit plan from the pandemic. We just need to push as hard as we can and control its immediate impact as much as we can tolerate.”

“There is still some uncertainty, but there is also an undeniable urgency,” he added. “Waiting to take action means waiting until it is too late to take action.”

Brown explained that data from Gauteng in South Africa, which appears to show omicron is less virulent than delta, is not transferable in Ontario. The median age in Guateng is 27, compared to 41 in Ontario, with older age being one of the most important factors in predicting serious illness.

In addition, the estimated percentage of highly immune adults in Gauteng, either through previous infections or through vaccinations or a combination of both, is estimated to be twice as higher as in Ontario (32 per cent Gauteng versus 15 per cent in Ontario).

A steep rise in omicron cases in South Africa has been followed by a steep rise in hospitalizations, Brown said, and early data from Denmark indicates the percentage of cases requiring hospital admission is not lower with omicron.

“Although this is an incredible threat, both to health and to our health system, we do have a tremendous amount on which to base hope, not the least of which are the vaccines,” Brown said. “But it must be hope built on action. Anything we can do now, whether as an individual or as a province, will help. Please, please get vaccinated as soon as you go.”

Crayola Canada has donated $40,000 to the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes.

In addition to the donation, employees of the Lindsay-based company raised $6,818.96 for the United Way through their workplace campaign.

Despite the pandemic, this is the highest amount raised in a Crayola workplace campaign to date.

“We are dedicated to our commitment toward corporate social responsibility in the community,” says Paul Murphy, general manager of Crayola Canada, in a media release. “We know people in our community need help more than ever as we move through the pandemic and we are proud that we can continue to support the important efforts of the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes.”

Crayola Canada has been supported in the United Way for more than 30 years. Normally, the company hosts an annual sale of Crayola products to raise money for the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes. Due to the pandemic, the sale has been cancelled for the past two years in a row.

The company has provided 30,000 square feet of its land that the United Way and Fleming College staff developed into a fully operational community garden. Edwin Binney’s Community Garden provides fresh produce to people who need it in the City of Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton County through social service agencies, food banks, shelters, and children’s programming agencies.

“Crayola has always been outstanding in its support of our work and we have developed a deeper partnership through the Edwin Binney’s Community Garden,” says United Way executive director Penny Barton Dyke.

“The garden is a multi-pronged approach to issues of food security and supporting food programs and in addition it is an education centre. With the use of this land owned by Crayola, we have produced over 34,400 pounds of food to date that has been donated to agencies to help fight hunger in Kawartha Lakes and in Haliburton areas.”

At its final virtual meeting this year, 100 Women Peterborough raised around $8,000 for Peterborough GreenUP, an environmental non-profit charity with programs for home energy efficiency, green economy, active transportation, green space development, and youth education.

The collective philanthropy group met on Zoom on Tuesday (December 14) to raise funds for an organization in need. Prior to the pandemic, the group met in person four times a year, with each of the members committing to donate $100 at each meeting. The group has been meeting virtually during the pandemic, with attendance at meetings optional in recognition of the financial impact of the pandemic on some members.

Whether meeting in person or virtually, the group hears presentations from three organizations randomly drawn from a larger list of organizations nominated by the group’s members. The organization receiving the most votes from members receives the donations contributed by the group’s members.

The three organizations that presented to 100 Women Peterborough at Tuesday’s virtual meeting were GreenUP, Shared Dreams for Independent Living, and The Mount Community Centre, with GreenUP chosen by majority vote to receive the funds.

Specifically, the donation from 100 Women Peterborough will fund GreenUP’s Girl’s Climate Leadership Program in 2022. Piloted in the summer of 2020, the program gave a small cohort of girl-identified youth aged 11 to 13 the opportunity to learn about the impacts of climate change, develop strategies to support action in their lives, and learn from inspiring local climate leaders who identify as women.

“GreenUP is grateful to 100 Women for their donation to support GreenUP’s climate action education and the Girl’s Climate Leadership Program,” GreenUP executive director Tegan Moss said. “The donation helps us invest in both the climate action we need today and also the climate leadership we need to build a better tomorrow. With their support we can keep growing programs that offer more youth the chance to build the skills and confidence needed to become climate leaders.”

This past summer, GreenUP more than doubled the capacity of the program, with participants learning about food security, low-carbon building methods, water protection, active transportation, and ecosystem restoration.

“In 2022 we will be able to introduce dozens of young girls to green building, food security, cycling skills, climate adaptation, and water protection,” Moss added. “Your generosity has made
this possible. Thank you to each of the 100 Women for choosing to support GreenUP.”

100 Women Peterborough was founded in February 2018 by Rosalea Terry, Catia Skinner, Wendy Hill, and Alyssa Stewart, who were inspired by similar groups in other communities.

“We are so happy to be able to support yet another important local initiative as a group to make a collective impact,” Terry said. “Being part of a giving group is powerful because it means that your dollar is multiplied. The women in our group are empowered to work with one another to create meaningful change in our community.”

The concept of collective philanthropy began in the United States in November 2006, when Karen Dunigan of Michigan formed the “100 Women Who Care” group. After their first meeting, the women raised over $10,000 for the purchase of 300 new baby cribs for a local organization.

The movement has grown over the past 15 years to include groups of men, women, youth, and children around the world, with more than 210 chapters in Canada alone.

Since its formation, 100 Women Peterborough has collectively donated more than $130,000 to 15 local organizations: Hospice Peterborough, Peterborough Youth Unlimited, One Roof Warming Room, New Canadians Centre, Cameron House, Five Counties Children’s Centre, Casa De Angelae, Lakefield Animal Welfare Society, Community Care Peterborough, Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre, Community Counselling and Resource Centre, Peterborough Pregnancy Support Services, Heads Up for Inclusion, Kawartha Youth Orchestra, and Peterborough GreenUP.

Women interested in joining 100 Women Peterborough should visit www.100womenptbo.ca for more information.

As part of the Ontario government’s “holiday testing blitz” against COVID-19 and the omicron variant announced on Wednesday (December 15), the province is offering voluntary rapid antigen screening to people free of charge at pop-up sites across the province.

People without symptoms of COVID-19 or people who have not had recent exposure to someone with COVID-19 will be able to pick up a package of free tests, while supplies last.

In the greater Kawarthas region, the free tests are first being offered in Peterborough.

The free tests will be available at the following locations and dates:

• Peterborough Farmers’ Market (Morrow Building, 151 Lansdowne St. W.) from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, December 18th and from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 8th<./li>
• Lansdowne Place (645 Lansdowne St. W.) from Tuesday, December 21st to Thursday, December 23rd (hours to be determined).
• Peterborough Memorial Centre (151 Lansdowne St. W.) from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, December 18th and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday, December 27th.
• Peterborough Public Library (345 Aylmer St. N.) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, January 5th and Thursday, January 6th.

Additional pop-up sites will be added at other locations in the coming days. Visit ontario.ca/holidaytesting to find out if pop-up rapid antigen screening sites are available in you area. Locations and operating hours will be updated weekly.

Rapid antigen tests detect certain proteins in the COVID-19 virus to confirm its presence. A sample is collected using a swab in the nose and/or throat or nasopharynx (behind your nose and above the back of your throat).

Rapid antigen tests provide results in 15 to 20 minutes after administering the test. Rapid antigen testing is used for screening purposes only and should not be used for diagnosing someone with symptoms or exposure to COVID-19.

Anyone who receives a package of tests to take home and gets a positive result must self-isolate and book a lab-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. In Peterborough, PCR tests are administered through the Peterborough Regional Health Centre’s COVID-19 Assessment Centre or at a participating pharmacy, and then sent to a lab for processing to confirm if the person has COVID-19.

With the omicron variant rapidly becoming the dominant strain of COVID-19 in Ontario and the waning immunity of people fully vaccinated earlier this year, the Ontario government is expanding eligibility for booster doses to everyone 18 years and over three months after their second dose, limiting the maximum capacity of large venues, and providing free rapid antigen testing.

“While there remains much we still don’t know about omicron, there’s one indisputable fact: the omicron variant is the most contagious — the most transmissible — variant of this virus that we’ve ever seen so far,” said Ontario Premier Doug Ford at a media conference on Wednesday afternoon (December 15), also attended by health minister Christine Elliott and chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore.

“Omicron is now on the verge of becoming the dominant strain of COVID in Ontario — in fact, it may already be,” Ford said. “Just because this new enemy is on the offence, does not mean we can sit back and play defence. We cannot and we will not. We will meet this new enemy with full force, because right now the best defence is a lightning-fast offence. And that is what we’re doing right now. We will go after this variant with everything we have, and this will require everyone — every member of team Ontario — to stand tall and get in the fight.

“I’m issuing a call to arms,” Ford added. “Hospitals, public health units, doctors, nurses, dentists, paramedics, businesses, union workers, first responders and, most importantly, you. Everyone has a role to play in the next phase of our provincial COVID response. It’s all hands on deck, and it starts with booster shots. Nothing matters more than getting these third shots into arms. To that effect, we’re urgently expanding eligibility.”

Starting Monday (December 20), Ontarians aged 18 and over can schedule their booster dose appointment, with the interval after the second dose shortened from six months to three months (84 days). Those aged 50 and over who have already booked their booster dose for six months after their second dose can also rebook their appointments to the shortened three-month interval.

Booster dose appointments can be made through the COVID-19 vaccination portal at covid19.ontariohealth.ca, by calling the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre at 1-833-943-3900, through Indigenous-led vaccination clinics, and at select pharmacies and primary care settings.

“One of our key components of this strategy is to get your booster dose because immunity does wane after, we think now, three months,” Dr. Moore said. “A booster dose should further protect Ontarians and that’s why that time frame’s in there.”

Effective at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday (December 18), the government will impose a 50 per cent capacity limit on indoor areas of venues with a usual capacity of 1,000 or more.

These venues include facilities used for sports and recreational fitness activities, entertainment facilities (such as concert venues, theatres, and cinemas), racing venues, meeting and event spaces, studio audiences in commercial film and television production, museums, galleries, aquariums, zoos, science centres, landmarks, historic sites, botanical gardens and similar attractions, casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments, and fair, rural exhibitions, and festivals.

“We’re having to change our direction in the face of a new enemy,” Dr. Moore said. “Omicron is much more infectious and there is a potential that it can spread in the air. Large venues like that can be mass-gathering threats of spread. Omicron is a definite game changer. We have to try to decrease the risk of rapid spread in those environments.”

Ontario is also launching a “holiday testing blitz” starting Wednesday, offering up to two million rapid antigen tests free of charge at pop-up testing sites in high-traffic settings such as malls, retail settings, holiday markets, public libraries, and transit hubs.

Pop-up teams will be deployed at nearly 50 locations across Ontario, including some co-located with GO-VAXX mobile vaccine buses. Most sites will distribute free take-home rapid antigen test kits, subject to supply, and some will offer asymptomatic rapid antigen screening on-site. The government will also make take-home rapid tests available at selected LCBO stores, starting with the busiest stores this week and with more stores being added in the coming days.

Ontarians can visit ontario.ca/holidaytesting to find out if pop-up rapid antigen screening sites will be available in their area. Locations and operating hours will be updated weekly, and no appointment will be required.

To quickly scale up capacity to administer 200,000 to 300,000 doses per day based on demand, the government has asked public health units, hospitals, pharmacists, primary care providers, and other health care providers to ramp up additional vaccination sites and to make a top priority the administration of first, second, and booster doses across the province.

“I need each of you to ask what you can do to help,” Ford said. “I need every business to ask if they can host a clinic or make their facilities available. I need every health professional to ask if they can lend as much time as possible putting needles in arms.”

“And I need every person to ask if they can volunteer at a local clinic and, most importantly, I need you to book your booster as soon as you’re able to do. Because we know, without a shadow of a doubt, that these vaccines work and boosters are the best way to prevent the worst.”

The province will also be expanding the Stop the Spread Business Information Line to allow businesses to request vaccine supply to administer on-site for employees. Businesses will need to meet certain criteria to ensure proper storage and safe administration of the vaccines, including availability of health human resources. The government will provide more information on the corporate and mobile clinics in the coming days.

The first suspected COVID-19 case of the omicron variant has been identified in the Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton region.

In a virtual media briefing on Wednesday afternoon (December 15), Dr. Natalie Bocking, medical officer of health for the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (HKPR) District Health Unit, said a lab specimen has screened positive for a mutation that could indicate the omicron variant.

“It does not 100 per cent mean that it’s omicron — it could be other variants — but it’s used as an early indicator,” Dr. Bocking said, referring to the test that identified the mutation. “It is most likely omicron, because we’re not seeing other variants such as the alpha variant.”

“It still takes one to two weeks to get the results of whole genome sequencing back, so it does take a bit of time to confirm 100 per cent if it is an omicron variant,” Dr. Bocking added. “We should expect over the next couple of weeks for more and more cases that are identified to be the omicron variant rather than the delta variant, as the omicron variant starts to become the dominant strain.”

Dr. Bocking said the weekly incidence rate has increased to 36.2 cases per 100,000 people, from around five cases per 100,000 three weeks ago. She noted that, by comparison, the Kingston area is experiencing an incidence rate of almost 350 cases per 100,000.

As of Wednesday, there are 59 active cases in the HKPR District Health Unit’s region, including 36 in Kawartha Lakes, 21 in Northumberland, and 2 in Haliburton, with 130 high-risk contacts across the region.

There are currently five outbreaks in the region, including outbreaks at three schools and at one child care centre, and one outbreak associated with a children’s hockey team. The outbreak in the medical/surgical inpatient ward at Campbellford Memorial Hospital was declared resolved on Tuesday (December 14).

“The increasing cases that we have had locally have been driven by the delta variant to date,” Dr. Bocking said. “We are seeing a steady increase now associated now with both a higher number of outbreaks but also a higher number of cases in total, including broader community transmission of COVID-19.”

Of the 115 cases identified in the last two weeks, 23 per cent of them have been among children under 10 years old, she added.

Dr. Bocking advised that the health unit will no longer be accepting walk-ins at any of its mass immunization clinics as of Thursday (December 16) due to increased demand for third doses. Walk-ins had previously been accepted during the last hour of scheduled clinics.

Additional appointments are being added to clinics to accommodate the increased demand. Anyone attending a vaccination clinic will also now be asked to put on a supplied medical-grade mask, either in place of or over top of their cloth mask.

With the recent increase in cases, the health unit will no longer be offering some non-COVID programming. This includes pausing sexual health clinics, no-doctor vaccination clinics for children, Healthy Babies Healthy Children programming, and some inspection services. The health unit is redeploying staff from these programs back to clinics or case investigation.

Dr. Bocking said she is not issuing any letters of instruction at this point to require additional public health measures, such as was the case in Peterborough on Monday, but it is still “actively under consideration.”

“I strongly support a pan-provincial approach,” she said. “It’s my understanding that we should be learning in the next day or so of potential further provincial measures. However, if we do not see additional provincial measures, then we will be issuing local letters of instruction given the recent surge in cases we are seeing here and then the enhanced risk associated with the omicron variant.”

Dr. Bocking said she is also “strongly encouraging” local residents, businesses, and organizations to cancel any large holiday parties.

“We should not be having large holiday parties right now. If you are planning on gathering, these need to be small gatherings, either just within your household or perhaps one other household.”

If you noticed a circular cloud in the sky about the Kawarthas yesterday, don’t worry — it probably wasn’t an interdimensional portal into another universe.

People posted photos on social media of the unusual cloud formation, which appeared in the sky late Tuesday afternoon (December 14), speculating as to the cause.

There were sightings of the odd cloud in the Peterborough area as well as in the Kawartha Lakes and even Muskoka, meaning it was a a high-altitude cloud.

Anyone else notice the strange cloud shape north of Lindsay?
Thoughts @weathernetwork @StormhunterTWN @JillTaylorCity pic.twitter.com/6S3IRGhTK0

— John Chambers (@_JohnChambers) December 14, 2021

The most likely explanation for the cloud is that is was a remnant of a “fallstreak hole”, also known as a “hole punch cloud”.

These circular or elliptical holes are formed in cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds at seven to 12 kilometres altitude.

When supercooled water droplets in the cloud encounter ice crystals, the droplets suddenly freeze, causing them to fall and create a hole in the cloud layer. However, usually this results in a “hole punch” in the cloud layer, and not a cloud ring surrounded by clear sky.

Because a ring-shaped cloud looks like a contrail, some people have speculated the cloud is formed by a circling jet.

While that seems unlikely, jets passing about a cloud layer can create the ice crystals that cause a fallstreak hole to form.

There are more bizarre theories for what could create a circular cloud, ranging from mammoth smoke rings to UFOs and conspiracies about the U.S. military. And, of course, it could also be an interdimensional portal into another universe.

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