The provincewide emergency brake  restrictions took effect on Saturday, April 3 in response to surging COVID-19 case numbers and related hospitalizations across Ontario.  The restrictions will be in effect for at least four weeks.

The provincewide emergency brake puts in place time-limited public health and workplace safety measures to help to stop the rapid transmission of COVID-19 variants in communities, protect hospital capacity and save lives. Measures include, but are not limited to:

  • Prohibiting indoor organized public events and social gatherings and limiting the capacity for outdoor organized public events or social gatherings to a 5-person maximum, except for gatherings with members of the same household (the people you live with) or gatherings of members of one household and one other person from another household who lives alone.
  • Restricting in-person shopping in all retail settings, including a 50 per cent capacity limit for supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, indoor farmers’ markets, other stores that primarily sell food and pharmacies, and 25 per cent for all other retail including big box stores, along with other public health and workplace safety measures;
  • Prohibiting personal care services;
  • Prohibiting indoor and outdoor dining. Restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments will be permitted to operate by take-out, drive-through, and delivery only;
  • Prohibiting the use of facilities for indoor or outdoor sports and recreational fitness (e.g., gyms) with very limited exceptions;
  • Requiring day camps to close; and,
  • Limiting capacity at weddings, funerals, and religious services, rites or ceremonies to 15 per cent occupancy per room indoors, and to the number of individuals that can maintain two metres of physical distance outdoors. This does not include social gatherings associated with these services such as receptions, which are not permitted indoors and are limited to five people outdoors.

Eastern Ontario Health Unit situation

There were 442 active cases of COVID-19 among residents of the Eastern Ontario Health Unit’s (EOHU) jurisdiction as of Monday, April 5.

There were 38 COVID-19 patients in hospital across the EOHU’s territory as of Monday.  Nine of those patients were in intensive care.

The number of deaths resulting from COVID-19 across the area served by the EOHU as of April 5 remained at 82.

Vaccinations

As of April 5, 27,249 COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered across the jurisdiction of the EOHU.

Within the EOHU’s jurisdiction, Ontario residents 70 years of age and older may book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment using Ontario’s online booking system. In accordance with the latest recommendations, those booking will be given appointments for first and second doses, 16 weeks apart.

The EOHU has launched an online pre-registration tool and asking all remaining individuals listed within the province’s Phase 1 priority populations, who have not yet been vaccinated or not yet booked an appointment, to pre-register. Pre-registration facilitates booking appointments quickly and easily as vaccine supply increases and more appointments become available.

Provincial Online Booking System

Ontario’s vaccine booking system has began accepting vaccine bookings for individuals who will be turning 70 or older in 2021 (born in 1951 or earlier). Booking is available at www.Ontario.ca/bookvaccine. Individuals who require assistance with booking can call the Provincial Vaccine Information Line at 1-888-999-6488.

The booking system will screen for eligibility based on age using health card information. Appointments can be made by an individual or with the help of family or an informal caregiver (note: family/informal caregivers born after 1951 cannot book an appointment for themselves at this time, however, they may use the EOHU Pre-Registration tool to pre-register for an appointment).

If you have a family member or provide care to someone who was born in 1951 or before, please encourage them to get vaccinated. Vaccinations will be available BY APPOINTMENT ONLY at vaccine clinics being held across the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry; the United Counties of Prescott-Russell; and the City of Cornwall. Alternate arrangements will be made for individuals who notify us of barriers preventing them from physically going to a clinic.

EOHU Pre-Registration Tool

Those who are not in the 70+ age group, but who are eligible for the vaccine based on the Phase 1 priority populations, must first pre-register using the EOHU online pre-registration tool at https://eohu.ca/en/covid/welcome-to-the-eohu-online-covid-19-vaccination-pre-registration-portal .

Once vaccine supply permits, those who have pre-registered will receive a code that will give them access to the provincial booking system.

Please note that pre-registration does not guarantee that you will get an appointment immediately. You may not get your appointment booking code for a week or longer, depending on vaccine supply.

Long-term care outbreaks

The following hospitals, long-term care, and retirement residences under EOHU jurisdiction also had COVID-19 outbreaks as of April 5:

Hawkesbury and District General Hospital CCU Unit only

Hawkesbury and District General Hospital East Wing

Heritage Lodge in Vankleek Hill

The Palace Long-Term Care in Alexandria

Le Genesis Retirement Home in Limoges

St-Joseph’s Continuing Care Centre –Complex Continuing Care side in Cornwall

Sandfield Place Retirement Home in Cornwall

Heartwood Long Term Care in Cornwall

Baldwin House in Cornwall

Chartwell McConnell in Cornwall

Woodland Villa in Long Sault

School and childcare facility cases

There were active cases of COVID-19 connected with the following schools under EOHU jurisdiction as of March 30.:

Upper Canada District School Board

One student at Pleasant Corners Public School near Vankleek Hill

One student at Vankleek Hill Collegiate Institute

Two students at Russell High School

One student and one staff member at Char-Lan Intermediate School in South Glengarry

One staff member at St. Lawrence Secondary School in Cornwall

One student at Longue Sault Public School in South Stormont

Two students at Morrisburg Public School

Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario

Four students at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School in Russell

Three students and one staff member at Mother Theresa Catholic School in Russell Township

Two students at Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School in South Glengarry

One student at St. Andrew’s Catholic School in South Stormont

Two students at Our Lady of Good Counsel School in South Stormont

One student at Sacred Heart School in Cornwall

One student at St. Joseph Catholic Intermediate School in Cornwall

Five students at St. Mary’s Catholic School in North Dundas

Conseil scolaire de district catholique de l’Est ontarien

One student at École intermédiare catholique-Pavillon Hawkesbury

One student at École secondaire catholique régionale de Hawkesbury

One student at École élémentaire catholique St-Joseph in Russell Township

Two students at École secondaire catholique de Casselman

One student at École élémentaire catholique de Casselman, Pavillon St-Paul/Ste-Euphèmie

Two students at École élémentaire catholique Sacré-Coeur in Clarence-Rockland

Three students at École intermédiare catholique-Pavillon Alexandria

Two students at École élémentaire catholique de l’Ange-Gardien in South Glengarry

Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario

One student at École élémentaire publique Le Sommet in Hawkesbury

Two staff members at École élémentaire publique Nouvel-Horizon in Hawkesbury

Two students at École élémentaire publique de L’Académie de la Seigneurie in Casselman

One student at École élémentaire publique Rose-des-vents in Cornwall

There were active cases of COVID-19 connected with a childcare facility under EOHU jurisdiction at the following locations as of Friday, March 26:

One child at Centre éducatif au Jardin des Câlins in Limoges

One child at Tiny Hoppers Rockland

One staff member at Centre éducatif Les Petits Trésors-New Sacred Heart Daycare in Cornwall

One staff member at Richelieu Day Care in Cornwall

One child and one staff member at The Learning Centre Longue Sault

One child at Happy Face Morrisburg

Ontario statistics

As of April 5, there were 2,557 new, active cases of COVID-19 across Ontario.  According to calculations based on statistics from the Ministry of Health, there were 25,487 active cases of COVID-19 across Ontario as of Monday.

There were 942 COVID-19 patients in hospital across Ontario as of Monday.  Out of those patients, 494 were in intensive care, and 293 patients were on ventilators.

There had been 7,450 deaths due to COVID-19 across Ontario as of April 5.

As of April 1, 2,276,313 COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered across Ontario and 317,715 Ontario residents had been fully vaccinated by receiving both required doses.

EOHU COVID-19 case map, April 5, 2021

Map: Eastern Ontario Health Unit.