The Northwestern Health Unit will be monitoring local COVID trends as restrictions across the province ease.
Proof of vaccination is no longer mandated to enter a business.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kit Young Hoon is once again issuing a recommendation to follow strict public health standards.
That includes social gatherings of 10 indoors and 25 outdoors as well as physical distancing, staying home if you are ill and getting a third vaccination.
In the catchment area, 48.3% of the eligible population have received their booster shot.
Dr. Young Hoon notes, “Definitely the statistics are indicating there’s higher circulating illness in our region. However, it’s not rapidly increasing. We’re not seeing a sudden surge or sudden increase. Hospitalization numbers have seen a small recent increase but it’s hard to determine how stable those numbers are, if it’s improving, if it’s getting worse.”
She says, “Generally the information is not indicating a situation that is rapidly getting worse. It is just a situation that’s sort of stable and staying generally at one level. So we’ve now had about almost 12 days of a lifting in restrictions and we have not seen that increase that might suggest that those restrictions need to necessarily be imposed.”
Dr. Young Hoon adds, “I think the general public just needs to be aware that risk in our area is greater. The improvements in the opening up and the less risk that is being seen in much of southern Ontario is not being seen here. So people need to act accordingly and make extra effort with respect to all the ongoing public health measures.”
The current 7-day positivity rate is 24.2%.
There are 265 cases in the region that are considered high-risk.
