Across the territory of the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) on Tuesday, September 15, there were 25 active cases of COVID-19, which was an increase from 19 active cases on Friday, September 11.  The number of cumulative cases across the jurisdiction of the EOHU was 218 and there were 181 resolved cases.  The City of Clarence Rockland and Township of North Glengarry had the highest number of cases.

During his media briefing on September 14, EOHU Medical Officer of Health Dr. Paul Roumeliotis said that case levels are increasing across Canada and that Ontario alone had seen an increase of 313 cases from September 13 to 14, which was the largest day-to-day increase since March.  He said that large indoor gatherings exceeding the legal limits continue to be the source of new cases.  Roumeliotis said that increased enforcement of limits will likely take place and he hinted that the limits could be reduced.  Currently, indoor gatherings in Ontario are limited at 50 people and outdoor gatherings are limited to 100 people.

Roumeliotis said that he is not yet prepared to declare that a second wave of COVID-19 cases is beginning.  He is hoping for a series of periodic bumps of increased cases rather than one major wave.

Even though it is six weeks away, questions are already being asked about how or if Halloween will take place on October 31.  Roumeliotis said that he is less concerned about children trick-or-treating than he is about Halloween parties where the spread of COVID-19 is far more likely to occur.  He said that provincial authorities are developing guidelines for safe ways to celebrate Thanksgiving, Halloween, and other festivities.

As of September 14, there had been no further cases of COVID-19 reported among employees of retail stores or other commercial businesses across the jurisdiction of the EOHU.  During the previous week, one case each had been reported at Chartrand’s Independent Grocer in Alexandria, and at an industrial plant in Alexandria.

The single institutional COVID-19 outbreak under EOHU jurisdiction at Dundas Manor in Winchester remained in effect on September 15.

Town-by-town

In the Town of Hawkesbury on September 15, there was one active case of COVID-19, one active case in La Nation Municipality, one active case in the Township of Alfred and Plantagenet, nine active cases in the City of Clarence-Rockland, and six active cases in the Township of North Glengarry.

As of September 15, there were no active cases in Champlain Township, the Township of East Hawkesbury or the Municipality of Casselman.

Since the beginning of the pandemic in March, there have been less than five confirmed cases in Champlain, East Hawkesbury, La Nation, and Casselman.  The Town of Hawkesbury has had 15 cumulative confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, the Township of Alfred and Plantagenet has had 46 cumulative cases, the City of Clarence-Rockland has had 41 cumulative cases, and there have been 10 cumulative cases in the Township of North Glengarry.

Testing and hospitalizations

As of September 15, 47,409 tests for COVID-19 had been done at the six testing and assessment centres across the EOHU territory, and by paramedics.  The centres are located in Hawkesbury, Alexandria, Casselman, Rockland, Cornwall, and Winchester.

On September 14, Roumeliotis said that he is frustrated that advanced, faster methods of testing that were approved by the federal government in June are not yet available for use locally.  He is hoping that eventually much more simple saliva tests for COVID-19 are possible.

The number of COVID-19 patients from the jurisdiction of the EOHU in hospital as of September 11 was zero and the number of deaths across EOHU territory remained unchanged at 12.

Ontario statistics

The Ontario Ministry of Health had recorded a cumulative 45,068 cases of COVID-19 across the province as of September 14, which was an increase of 1,000 cases from September 11.  The Ministry also reported that, 40,091 or 89 per cent of those cases were resolved, which means that 4,977 cases were active across Ontario as of September 14.

There were 47 COVID-19 patients in hospital across Ontario on September 14.  Out of those 47 patients, 19 were in intensive care, and 11 patients were on ventilators.

There had been 2,820 deaths due to COVID-19 across Ontario as of September 14.

Cumulative and active cases of COVID-19 across EOHU jurisdiction, September 15, 2020.

Map: Eastern Ontario Health Unit.