With COVID-19 numbers still high across the province, the stay-at-home order has been extended to at least June 2.
Some are wondering if the lockdown should be divided regionally and not as a whole, but Dr. Kit Young Hoon, medical officer of health at the Northwestern Health Unit (NWHU), said the northwestern region is not ready for that.
“I don’t have the evidence to suggest that removing those orders would be necessarily beneficial for us. The fact that our case numbers have worsened while the stay-at-home orders have been in place suggests that they could have been much worse if the stay-at-home orders were not in place,” Young Hoon said.
Young Hoon said there are two things the region can do to help get the order lifted: get vaccinated and follow public health measures to lower case numbers.
Nearly 37,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been given across the region. Anyone who is classified as an essential worker and anyone aged 40 or older can book their spot directly through the ministry booking system, Young Hoon added.
This week, those aged 30 and older will be able to book and next month, those aged 12 to 17 will be eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine. The NWHU is awaiting more information from the province on how these youth can book appointments, Young Hoon said, adding that they will also be working closely with school boards on this.
For those who are eligible right now, Young Hoon said she urges them to get their vaccine.
“This affects all of us. The more that people are vaccinated, the less the virus will spread and the easier it will be to get out of the pandemic and get out of public health restrictions,” Young Hoon said.
There are currently 53 active cases in the region, 35 in the Sioux Lookout health hub, 10 in the Dryden health hub, six in the Kenora health hub and two in the Fort Frances health hub.
The surge of cases in Dryden is related to two clusters of cases. One cluster is the KFC workplace outbreak, and the other is a group of individuals where the virus was brought in from another part of Ontario. Young Hoon said everyone affected is isolating and both situations are under control.
In terms of vaccination numbers, Young Hoon said she thinks the region is progressing well to the target of anyone who wants a vaccine to be vaccinated by the end of June.
At this time, the second dose of the vaccine is given at the 16-week dose interval for most individuals. Young Hoon said if there was enough vaccine supply, that interval could be reduced but that it is difficult to know at this time if that will happen.
There are only a small number of individuals in the region who have received both doses of the vaccine but Young Hoon said new guidelines allow those who are fully vaccinated to not have to self-isolate if they are a high-risk close contact of a case of COVID-19.
“By avoiding a 14-day isolation period, these fully vaccinated people will be able to continue doing their daily activities like attending school or work,” Young Hoon said. “This will be most useful in the fall when most people should have had a chance to get their second dose.
The province’s vaccination target is 75 per cent but Young Hoon said it would be much more protective to have a coverage rate of 80 or 90 per cent. Right now, approximately 48 to 50 per cent of the eligible population in the catchment area are vaccinated.
Young Hoon said the NWHU is monitoring for vaccine hesitancy but that it is too early to know for certain if they are seeing the beginnings of it.