There were 357 active cases of COVID-19 across the jurisdiction of the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) as of Monday, April 26.  There had been 415 active cases on Friday, April 23.

As of Monday, there were 34 COVID-19 patients in hospital across the EOHU’s territory and six of those patients were in intensive care.

There had been 100 deaths due to COVID-19 across the jurisdiction of the EOHU as of April 26.

On Monday, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Paul Roumeliotis said there had been 52 new cases of COVID-19 across the EOHU’s jurisdiction confirmed over the previous weekend.

Restrictions

The provincewide shutdown and stay-at-home order is to remain in effect for the entire province of Ontario.  The Ontario-Québec boundary is also closed to all but the most essential traffic.  The restrictions are in effect until May 20.

Ontario statistics

As of April 26, there were 3,510 new, active cases of COVID-19 across Ontario.  According to calculations based on statistics from the Ministry of Health, there were 40,586 active cases of COVID-19 across Ontario as of Monday.

There were 2,271 COVID-19 patients in hospital across Ontario as of Monday.  Out of those patients, 877 were in intensive care, and 605 patients were on ventilators.

There had been 7,935 deaths due to COVID-19 across Ontario as of April 26, which was an increase of 10 deaths from April 25.

Vaccinations

As of April 26, 53,794 COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered across the jurisdiction of the EOHU.

On April 23, vaccination eligibility in Ontario was expanded to include pregnant individuals.

Across Ontario, 4,696,211 vaccine doses had been administered, and 361,166 Ontario residents had been fully vaccinated by receiving both required doses as of April 26.

According to Medical Officer of Health Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, 22,000 people had booked appointments at the EOHU’s upcoming COVID-19 vaccination clinics as of Thursday, April 22.

According to Roumeliotis, 58,000 more individuals across the EOHU’s territory are expected to be vaccinated by May 24.  That does not include vaccinations given at pharmacies or medical clinics.  The Astra-Zeneca vaccine is available at selected pharmacies to individuals aged 45 and greater.  However, as of April 26, the supply of Astra-Zeneca was limited and deliveries were delayed.

Within the EOHU’s jurisdiction, Ontario residents 60 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 One 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 is accepting vaccine bookings for individuals who will be turning 60 or older in 2021 (born in 1961 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 1961 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 1961 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 60+ 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.

Institutional outbreaks

The following hospitals, long-term care, retirement residences, and group home facilities under EOHU jurisdiction also had COVID-19 outbreaks as of April 26:

Residence St-Mathieu in Hammond

Residence Cartier in Bourget

Caressant Care Nursing Home in Bourget

Community Living-Lasalle in Cornwall

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

Open Hands on Second Street in Cornwall

Open Hands on Gage Street in Cornwall

School closures

All schools in Ontario have switched to learning online indefinitely due to the significant number of new cases of COVID-19 among students in recent weeks.

EOHU COVID-19 case map, April 26, 2021

Map: Eastern Ontario Health Unit.