A fundamental shift to regional restrictions instead of province-wide lockdowns may be just around the corner, according to Chatham-Kent's top health official.
Chatham-Kent Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Colby said the province is signaling that it will "probably" switch to regional lockdowns in the future instead of a health unit by health unit approach like the past when the colour coded system was in place.
Colby said one of the big factors that will decide if a region is locked down is the percentage of the population that is vaccinated. He added he welcomes that change because it provides an incentive for people in the community to roll up their sleeves and get the shot to get out of the pandemic.
"One of the factors that has never been a factor before is the proportion of people vaccinated in the region," said Colby. "The quicker we get people vaccinated, the quicker the restrictions will go away."
The doctor said 42 per cent of Chatham-Kent's population 16 and older has received at least one dose.
Colby added the health unit by health unit approach was not very successful, although its design made sense. He thinks the province is going to redesign the lockdown model from the ground up.
Dr. Colby said the province always asks him and his counterparts across Ontario for input when it comes to lockdowns to get the lay of the land about the number of cases and if outbreaks are under control before making a decision.
On Friday, Chatham-Kent Public Health reported six new cases and six resolved cases for a total of 36 active cases, the same number of active cases as the previous day. The number of COVID-19 patients at the Chatham hospital has dropped to 12, five fewer than on Thursday. Emily Field, with Chatham-Kent Health Alliance Communications, reported nine of the patients are local residents and three are not. She said four of them are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), seven are in the Medicine Unit, and one is in the Progressive Unit. Field added one of the COVID-19 patients in the ICU is on a ventilator.
The hospital said the 10 bed ICU remains 90 per cent full and the occupancy in the Medical, Surgical, and Critical Care Unit has dropped to 78.3 per cent. It was 87.4 per cent one day ago. The other five patients in the ICU don't have COVID-19. Field said a number of beds within the Medicine Unit are open and available for actively confirmed COVID-19 patients and patients who had a case resolved within the last 90 days. The outbreak in the Medicine Unit continues with four cases and only COVID-19 patients are being admitted to that unit. A fifth case in the unit was discharged before the outbreak was declared and is at home.
The outbreak at an undisclosed workplace also continues with three cases. The number of residents with a variant or a related mutation of the virus has now reached 200. Dr. Colby also reported that the variants first identified in South Africa and Brazil have been confirmed in Chatham-Kent. The variant first identified in the U.K. was previously reported as the dominant variant found in the region.
On Friday, Walpole Island First Nation reported four active cases and no new deaths.
Meantime, high-risk health care workers, dialysis patients, and all First Nations, Inuit and Métis individuals are now eligible to book second dose appointments at a shortened interval. Chatham-Kent Public Health said second doses can be offered to these groups earlier than the 16 week time frame because of an increased vaccine supply across Ontario in the coming weeks and these individuals may book appointments 21 days after receiving their first dose of Pfizer and 28 days after receiving their first dose of Moderna. Click here to confirm which health care workers are eligible.
Those eligible can book online at GetYourShotCK.ca or call 519-351-1010 and leave a message. Chatham-Kent Public Health reminds people to select an appointment time that offers the same vaccine that they received for their first dose.