7 COVID deaths in one week in the region as province changes its COVID advice

Jeff Green | Sep 14, 2022

The COVID-19 virus is continuing to  exact a heavy toll in the Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington (KFL&A)  region.

The KFL&A Public Health COVID dashboard, updated weekly on Tuesdays, showed 13 hospitalisations, with 3 people in the ICU, on September  13. This was a drop in ICU numbers from the previous week, but the sad news is that 7 people died of COVID in the region over that week, making it one of, if not the, deadliest week in the region throughout the entire pandemic. 79 people have died from COVID in KFL&A since March of 2020.

The positive testing rate for the limited population that is eligible for testing, was down slightly from the previous week, but still high at 16.3%.  Wastewater data, however,  remains  on  a downward trend, sitting at the early July levels, before the onset of the 7th COVID wave. Wastewater data is considered a leading indicator for the virus, hopefully preceding decreases in other indicators of virus activity in the region.

Meanwhile, the provincial advice around COVID has changed

Kieran Moore, the Chief Medical Officer of Health of Ontario, announced on August 31 that the recommendation for individuals to self- isolate if they have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, has been dropped.

The new advice is to self-monitor for symptoms and wear a mask for 10 days when in public.

And for those who are experiencing flu-like symptoms, the advice is to stay home until the symptoms are improving, and any fever is gone. Taking a COVID test, either a rapid antigen test, or a PCR test for those who are eligible, is still recommended, but a positive test will not longer trigger the need to isolate for 5 days.

The changes are in line with Moore’s assertion that efforts to contain COVID should be aligned with efforts to control the spread of other respiratory ailments such as the flu and seasonal colds, what he called an “all virus approach”.

This is consistent with something that Moore said at a media briefing on February 26, 2020, when he was the medical officer of health for Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington.

“Everyone is susceptible because we don’t have any population immunity, so it will have a very high attack rate over the next several years before settling into a normal seasonal cycle,” Moore said at the time.

Now, two and a half years later, citing the uptake of vaccines in Ontario, as well as improved ventilation in both workplaces and schools in the province, Moore is indicating that the time has come to treat COVID as something that is similar to seasonal colds and flu.

Individuals can return to work or school after symptoms have subsided for 24 hours (48 hours if those symptoms included nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea, if the individual does not have a fever or any additional symptoms, even if they are still testing positive for COVID or have not taken a COVID test at all.

The province is also recommending that for 10 days after symptoms start, individuals wear a mask in all public settings, avoid non-essential activities where they take a mask off (such as dining in a restaurant), avoid non-essential visits to anyone who is immune-compromised, including the elderly, and avoid non-essential visits to at risk settings in the community such as hospitals or long-term care facilities.

This advice pertains to anyone experiencing an upper respiratory illness of any kind, effectively putting COVID protocols on par with protocols for the flu and cold viruses.

Moore is also recommending that all Ontarians keep up with their COVID and flu vaccines.

A variety of medical experts, including emergency room physicians and others, have decried the new provincial stance as premature, saying it will result in increased transmission of COVID, bringing an 8th wave sometime this fall.

They note that while the uptake for the first two doses of vaccine was very high in Ontario, the booster campaign has been less successful, particularly among those who are younger.

In KFL&A, the vaccine coverage for 1st and 2nd doses is almost 90%, but only 67% have had a booster dose, and only 26% have had a second booster dose.

The province announced this week, that a new bivalent vaccine, designed to provide protection from the dominant Omicron COVID strain, will be made available for all Ontarians who are over 18, as of September 26. The vaccine is available now for those over 70.

COVID, and flu vaccination initiatives are expected to ramp up in the October and into November.