There were 172 active cases of COVID-19 among residents of the jurisdiction of the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) as of Friday, May 21.

As of Friday, there were 10 COVID-19 patients in hospital across the EOHU’s territory and three of those patients were in intensive care.

There had been 103 deaths due to COVID-19 across the jurisdiction of the EOHU as of May 21.

Reopening

The current stay-at-home order and shutdown in Ontario ends on June 3. On May 20, Premier Doug Ford announced a progressive “roadmap” to reopen the Province of Ontario that will depend on vaccination rates and case numbers.

Roadmap to Reopen outlines three steps to easing public health measures, guided by the following principles:

  • Step One An initial focus on resuming outdoor activities with smaller crowds where the risk of transmission is lower and permitting retail with restrictions. This includes allowing outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people, outdoor dining with up to four people per table and non-essential retail at 15 per cent capacity.
  • Step Two Further expanding outdoor activities and resuming limited indoor services with small numbers of people where face coverings are worn. This includes outdoor gatherings of up to 25 people, outdoor sports and leagues, overnight camps, personal care services where face coverings can be worn and with capacity limits, as well as indoor religious services, rites or ceremony gatherings at 15 per cent capacity.
  • Step Three Expanding access to indoor settings, with restrictions, including where there are larger numbers of people and where face coverings can’t always be worn. This includes indoor sports and recreational fitness; indoor dining, museums, art galleries and libraries, and casinos and bingo halls, with capacity limits.

The province will remain in each step for at least 21 days to evaluate any impacts on key public health and health system indicators. If at the end of the 21 days, the following vaccination thresholds have been met, along with positive trends in other key public health and health system indicators, then the province will move to the next step:

  • Step 1: 60 per cent of adults vaccinated with one dose.
  • Step 2: 70 per cent of adults vaccinated with one dose and 20 per cent vaccinated with two doses.
  • Step 3: 70 to 80 per cent of adults vaccinated with one dose and 25 per cent vaccinated with two doses.

Based on current trends in key health indicators, including the provincial vaccination rate, the government expects to enter Step One of the Roadmap the week of June 14, 2021. The province will confirm closer to the expected start of Step One.

On May 20, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Paul Roumeliotis said that golf courses, marinas and boat launches several outdoor amenities including all sports fields, marinas, and boat launches will be open effective Saturday, May 22.

“We’re going to be seeing a substantial reduction of public health measures,” he said.

The previous colour-coded regional green, yellow, orange, and red levels of measures have been discontinued in Ontario. The new approach of gradual reopening based on low cases and high vaccination rates will apply to the entire province instead of having different rules for different regions.

The OPP checkpoints on roads entering Ontario from Québec remain in effect. The Review has inquired with the EOHU to ask when these checkpoints will end.

Ontario statistics

There were 1,890 new, active cases of COVID-19 across Ontario as of May 21. According to calculations based on statistics from the Ministry of Health, there were 22,200 active cases of COVID-19 across Ontario as of Friday.

There were 1,265 COVID-19 patients in hospital across Ontario as of Friday. Out of those patients, 715 were in intensive care, and 510 patients were on ventilators.

There had been 8,506 deaths due to COVID-19 across Ontario as of May 21, which was an increase of 17 deaths from May 20.

Vaccinations

As of May 21, 94,446 COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered across the jurisdiction of the EOHU.

Across Ontario, 7,735,148 vaccine doses had been administered, and 495,757 Ontario residents had been fully vaccinated by receiving both required doses as of May 21.

As of Tuesday, all individuals aged 18 and older (born in 2003 or before) are eligible to make COVID-19 vaccination appointments in Ontario.

Individuals classified as Group Two, including retail workers aged 16 and 17, are also eligible to make vaccination appointments in Ontario.

Appointment booking is also available directly through the provincial booking system at www.Ontario.ca/bookvaccine. Individuals who require assistance with booking can call the Provincial Vaccine Information Line at 1-888-999-6488.

Appointments can be made by an individual or with the help of someone. If you know someone who is part of an eligible group, please encourage them to get vaccinated. Those needing assistance with booking or getting to their COVID-19 vaccine appointment should visit our website to access local supports.

Roumeliotis is anticipating 24,000 more vaccine doses will be delivered to the EOHU before the end of May. More clinics will be added across the EOHU’s territory for throughout June. The EOHU is currently in discussions with school boards about offering COVID-19 vaccinations to students when it is permitted.

Some residents who were vaccinated in the early stages of the COVID-19 vaccination effort have stated they are not aware of when their second dose appointment is. The Review has submitted a question regarding second dose appointments to the EOHU and hopes to receive a response on May 25.

Standby list

To avoid vaccine wastage by ensuring as many individuals as needed are available to receive remaining doses at the end of a clinic, the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) is now extending the eligibility criteria for the standby list to individuals aged 18 or older who have not yet been able to book an appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

COVID-19 vaccination clinics throughout the EOHU region are operating efficiently and ethically to ensure that vaccine wastage is minimized. All vaccine doses at each site are planned for and allocated. Should doses remain at the end of a clinic due to missed or cancelled appointments, individuals on the standby list could be called in to receive the extra doses to avoid vaccine wastage at local clinics.

Individuals who receive their first vaccination using the Standby List are unable to immediately make an appointment for the second dose.

Institutional outbreaks

The following hospitals, long-term care, retirement residences, and group home facilities under EOHU jurisdiction also had COVID-19 outbreaks as of May 21:

Rockland Manor

Residence St-Mathieu in Hammond

A COVID-19 outbreak among employees at a window manufacturer in Alexandria also continues.

School closures

All schools in Ontario have switched to learning online indefinitely. With a progressive reopening of various businesses and services across the province planned for the weeks ahead, officials have been facing questions about if in-person learning will resume at any schools during the five weeks remaining in the school year.

On May 20, Premier Doug Ford said there needs to be a consensus among public health officials before any resumption of classroom learning is considered. Chief Medical Officer of Health for Ontario, Dr. David Williams, and Roumeliotis both support having classes resume, but other officials question the safety of returning to classroom learning.

EOHU COVID-19 case map, May 21, 2021

Map: Eastern Ontario Health Unit.