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The North Bay Regional Health Centre has been “poised and ready for months” to deal with an anticipated spike in COVID-19 cases.
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President and CEO Paul Heinrich says a memo issued Tuesday by Ontario Health president Matt Anderson is “more of a reminder for us” to be ready to activate the hospital’s surge capacity plan “something we have already enacted.”
Anderson issued the memo to hospital CEOs Tuesday, saying the province has entered a “critical phase” of the pandemic with widespread community transmission.
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The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit surpassed 100 total cases Friday since the start of the pandemic.
The health unit added four new cases, all in Parry Sound District, bringing the region’s total number of cases up to 102 from 98 Thursday.
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Two of the cases involve individuals 19 years of age or younger, who were exposed to COVID-19 through close contact with a case.
Another person between 20 and 39 years of age was exposed through community transmission.
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The local health unit is reporting a possible exposure of COVID-19 at a private school.
The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit released a statement Friday morning saying it had identified a risk of exposure at the school, which is located in Nipissing District.
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The health unit is not identifying the school, which has a small population, due to privacy.
“The health unit is working with the school to ensure that all individuals who are considered high risk are contacted. Individuals who are not contacted by the health unit are considered low risk and are asked to self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19,” the statement from the health unit said.
New COVID-19 cases, another travel advisory
Among new case counts of COVID-19 yesterday into today. The Porcupine Health Unit says one new case has been confirmed. It is linked to international travel and an air travel exposure advisory has been issued. Through the case investigation, the health unit says there “may have been a potential low risk exposure to the public” to passengers on the Dec. 12 Air Canada 2:25 p.m. flight inbound from Toronto. Those in rows 8 to 12 are being asked to self monitor.
Meanwhile the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit has reported one new case of COVID. The person is between the ages of 20 and 39. They came into contact with the virus through the close contact, and is isolating.
Vaccines not available yet with Parry Sound Family Health Team
SHARE ON: Illustration of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2, the cause of COVID-19 (Alissa Eckert, MS, Dan Higgins, MAMS)
The Parry Sound Family Health Team (PSFHT) says vaccines are not available through them and they have no expected arrival date.
“The Ontario government has developed a three-phase implementation plan to receive, store and administer COVID-19 vaccines to Ontarians as soon as they are received,” PSFHT officials explain. “Phase One will begin on Tuesday with a pilot project in Toronto and Ottawa which will include the vaccination of over 2,500 health care workers with the Health Canada approved Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.”