41 active and 50 resolved COVID-19 cases in Eastern Ontario Health Unit jurisdiction, new orders take effect

UPDATED AT 11:38 p.m. on 04/30/2020

On Thursday, April 30, for the third day, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases within the jurisdiction of the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) remained at 91.  However, 50 of those cases were listed as resolved, meaning 41 of them are still active.

The 41 confirmed cases include the eight residents and three staff who are part of the the existing outbreak at Pinecrest Nursing Home in Plantagenet.  There were no new outbreaks in institutions within the EOHU’s jurisdiction on Thursday.

Out of the 41 confirmed cases within the EOHU’s territory on Thursday, 33 cases remained active in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell and 27 were listed as resolved.  There were three active cases in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry and 14 resolved cases.  In the City of Cornwall, there were five active cases and nine resolved cases as of Thursday.

Among the active cases within the EOHU territory on Thursday, three patients were in hospital, and two of those patients were in intensive care.  There have been no COVID-19 deaths within the EOHU’s jurisdiction.

Testing 

The EOHU, with the help of paramedics from Prescott and Russell, and Cornwall-Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry, is taking more aggressive action to test residents of long-term care and retirement facilities for COVID-19 due to the high rates of infection and death in those facilities.  The EOHU’s liaison committee is also assessing the testing needs for other group-living institutions throughout its territory.

As of Thursday, April 30, 2,137 people had been tested for COVID-19 at the EOHU’s five testing and assessment centres.

New orders take effect

Three new public health orders related to COVID-19 were announced by EOHU Medical Officer of Health Dr. Paul Roumeliotis on Wednesday, and they took effect on Thursday.

The order first issued on April 3 requiring all essential businesses to comply with crowd control, disinfection, and employee training measures has been expanded to include all businesses that allow public access and in-person customer service.  Roumeliotis said the changes were made to include businesses that could re-open to full public access in the weeks ahead if the number of new cases of COVID-19 remains low.

Under the second order, businesses that are presently operating by offering curbside parcel pickup for customers now must adopt crowd control, physical distancing, disinfection, and employee training procedures that are the same as those for essential businesses.

The third order requires restaurants providing drive-through service to also adhere to crowd control, physical distancing, disinfection, and employee training measures that other businesses are required to follow.

Roumeliotis said on Thursday that additional enforcement to end the practice of customers congregating in the parking lots of drive-through restaurants will also occur.

“It’s drive-through, pick it up, and leave,” he said.

Ontario figures

According to the Ministry of Health, there were 16,187 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the province of Ontario on Thursday, April 30, which was a 2.9 per cent increase from April 29.  Out of the total number of confirmed cases, 10,205 were listed by the ministry as resolved.

Across Ontario on April 30, there were 999 COVID-19 patients in hospital.  Out of that number, 233 patients were in intensive care and 181 patients were on ventilators.

There have been 1,082 deaths due to COVID-19 in Ontario, as of Thursday.

 

To view the complete EOHU daily briefing for April 29, click here: