COVID-19 in Sudbury & districts: Your weekly update March 4, 2021

Reporting period: Thursday, February 25, 2021, to Wednesday, March 3, 2021.

March 4, 2021 — The following is a summary of how the status of COVID-19 has changed in Public Health Sudbury & Districts’ service area over the last seven days up to end of day March 3, 2021: 98 new cases, 14 cases were resolved, and 2 deaths occurred. Twelve (12) outbreaks were active, including 5 in local schools, 2 in long-term care homes, 2 in retirement homes, 2 in community congregate living settings, and 1 in a large multi-unit dwelling. Four (4) outbreaks were declared over in the past 7 days, 2 in long-term care homes, 1 in a retirement home and 1 in a community congregate living setting.  At end of day March 3, 2021, there were 112 active cases in our service area, and 8 active outbreaks. One (1) case was hospitalized, while the rest were self-isolating.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been a total of 698 local cases of which 586 are resolved, and 14 people have died in our service area. Three (3) cases in total have been confirmed as a COVID-19 variant of concern (VOC).

Trends in the past seven days

• Of the 98 new cases in our service area, 49 were associated with an outbreak, while 35 were close contacts of confirmed cases. This means that Public Health identified how these people were exposed to COVID-19 and was able to take quick action to prevent further spread. Two (2) cases were travel-related, while the source of exposure was unknown for 4 cases.  Eight (8) cases remained under investigation.
• Ninety-four (94) cases reside in Greater Sudbury, while 4 reside in the Sudbury District.
• By end of day on March 3, contact tracing information was available for all 98 of the new cases. Through our investigation, we identified 1,102 people who had high-risk close contacts with these cases. That is an average of 11.0 high-risk close contacts per case, compared to 7.0 contacts per cases last week. Public Health follows up directly and regularly with every high-risk close contact to monitor them for symptoms, ensure they are self-isolating, and make recommendations for testing according to provincial guidance.
• The 7-day incidence rate was 49.3 new cases per 100 000 population (compared to 12.6 for the previous 7 days).
• The percent positivity was 1.36% for the period of February 23 to March 1 (compared to 0.35% for the previous 7 days).
• For the period of February 24 to March 2, the effective reproductive number (Rt) was 1.15 for Northern Ontario, and 1.01 for Ontario overall.
• There were no new local cases that were confirmed to be a COVID-19 variant of concern (VOC) in the past 7 days. There were, however, 22 cases for which preliminary tests indicate the potential to be one of these variants. Further laboratory testing is underway to confirm if these cases are, in fact, a VOC.

Stay COVID-safe

• Employers should ask all employees to complete a COVID-19 screening every day before going to work. The Government of Ontario has updated the worker and employee screening tool which will provide the employee with more information on what to do based on their answers.
• While you are out running errands remember to practise physical distancing of 6 feet even when wearing a mask. Practising physical distancing with individuals not in your household as much as possible will help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and variants of concerns (VOC).
• It is common for viruses to change over time. This is what is currently happening to the COVID-19 virus. It is important to continue to practise all public health measures like wearing your mask, practise physical distancing, wash your hands, and only travel for essential reasons. All of these measures are effective and they will work against the variants of concern (VOC).
• Immunization for COVID-19 is currently underway with priority groups set by the Government of Ontario. These groups include staff, residents, and caregivers in retirement homes and other congregate care settings for seniors (for example, assisted living), indigenous adults and adult recipients of chronic home care. Adults 80 years of age and older will be offered the vaccine in the coming weeks. Timing is dependent on a number of factors, including supply. Details about clinics, including how to book an appointment, will be shared once confirmed. Remember to continue to follow public health measures to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
• The COVID-19 situation can be very stressful. It is important to take care of our mental health during challenging times like these. Sometimes this means being brave and reaching out for additional help. Check out these Government of Ontario mental health, wellness and addictions supports.

What’s new

• Public Health is sounding the alarm to ramp up measures to protect against COVID-19 after a surge in local cases which include cases that have either screened positive or been confirmed for the more transmissible virus mutations, called variants of concern (VOC).
• A number of outbreaks are being monitored in various institutional, community, congregate care, and school settings, including a large multi-unit dwelling. Outbreak control measures are in place and Public Health continues to work closely with all affected individuals, agencies, and partners to prevent further spread of the virus.
• The COVID-19 vaccine is being offered to Indigenous adults (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) aged 55 and over from area First Nations and in urban settings, highest priority health care workers, and very high priority health care workers this week.
• Public Health now reports the number of COVID-19 cases with confirmed variants of concern (VOC) in the daily 4 p.m. web update.
• Information on upcoming vaccination clinics for specific priority groups can be found on the COVID-19 vaccination clinics page at phsd.ca
• Health care workers can pre-register for a COVID-19 vaccination appointment by filling out a pre-registration survey. At this time, individuals who are not identified as health care workers cannot complete the pre-registration survey.

Message from Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, Medical Officer of Health

This has been a very alarming week as we’ve seen COVID-19 cases rapidly increase in our area. It’s also very worrisome to see a number of cases that have screened positive or been confirmed for variants of concern (VOC). The public health measures we’ve been following are critical now. That means staying home if you’re ill, masking, keeping distancing, and only going out or traveling for essential reasons. I encourage everyone to continue to think about ways you can help prevent the spread of the virus. I’m pleased that with the help of many partners we were able to offer the vaccine to even more priority groups this week. As of February 28, we have administered 6832 doses and 843 people have been fully vaccinated. Next week, we will begin offering the vaccine to adults 80 years of age and older and adult recipients of chronic home care. Let’s remain hopeful and continue to support each other through this trying time.

Regular updates

Visit phsd.ca/COVID-19/data for regular updates about COVID-19 testing, confirmed cases, as well as outbreaks and potential exposures in Greater Sudbury, the District of Sudbury, and the District of Manitoulin. In addition, a detailed epidemiology summary is posted Mondays and Thursdays that includes information about cases over time, case characteristics, probable exposures, case outcomes, testing, and outbreaks in facilities.

For more information or if you have questions, please visit phsd.ca/COVID-19 or call Public Health Sudbury & Districts at 705.522.9200 (toll-free 1.866.522.9200).