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GREATER SUDBURY, Ont. — The region west of Nipissing–Parry Sound now has one of the highest COVID-19 case counts in Ontario, even as numbers are trending downward across the province.
The rapidly rising case count — the health unit reported 21 new cases of COVID-19, Wednesday, bringing the total number of active cases to 209 — prompted Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, the medical officer of health for Public Health Sudbury & Districts, to issue a new order around self-isolation in an effort to stop this new spread of the novel coronavirus. The new class order is enforceable by law.
Of the 21 new cases, PHSD classified nine as associated with outbreaks, seven were new cases related to close contacts of confirmed cases, and five cases have no known epidemiological link.
In a news release issued Thursday morning, Sutcliffe says the local pandemic trend is a “signal” to take action.
"While the province of Ontario is seeing improvements in COVID-19 case counts, trends in Greater Sudbury are going in the opposite direction. We are currently a COVID-19 hotspot, with a case rate that is among the highest in the province. These trends signal a call to immediate action.
"Now is the time for each of us to assess our individual actions and decisions and ramp up COVID-19 precautions — layer on the protective measures such as vaccination, masking, distancing, working from home, and importantly, staying home when even mildly unwell. We have the power in our hands to turn this around."
Sutcliffe observes the number of cases without any identifiable source of exposure is particularly worrying.
"Locally, no single setting or sector is driving the current increase. The number of cases without any known source of exposure has increased over the last few months, which indicates a worrying trend of community spread of the virus," Sutcliffe states.
There are a number of active outbreaks in the area — seven currently, including outbreaks at Sudbury Jail (59 cases to date), Memorial Park (21 cases) and two schools (six cases). One school, École Ste-Marie in Azilda, was closed this week due to an outbreak.
Health Sciences North currently has the highest occupancy rate percentage among all Ontario hospitals with more than 100 acute care beds, Sutcliffe adds.
"Our case count per 100,000 residents is among the highest in the province and the percentage of local COVID tests coming back positive is greater than it has been in weeks,” she says. “The seven-day rate of new cases was 82.5 per 100,000 population, compared with 17 for the province of Ontario."
The higher the case count climbs, the higher the rate of hospitalization climbs, jeopardizing the ability of the local health care system to respond to non-COVID-19-related patients.
Sutcliffe stresses she is not rolling back the provincial reopening framework locally, adding people can continue to "enjoy the benefits," of the government’s Plan to Safely Reopen Ontario, but only if "we strengthen our individual commitment to prevention."
She encourages everyone to follow the now-familiar steps of wearing a mask, hosting gatherings outdoors instead of indoors, physical distancing, self-screening for symptoms (and getting tested ASAP when symptoms develop), following self-isolation guidelines and getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
"Remember that the virus is not selective about who it infects. Any of us could catch COVID-19 and spread it to others — including to those who are more vulnerable, could be inconvenienced by self-isolation, or could develop 'long COVID,'" Sutcliffe advises. "As you make decisions about your day-to-day activities, including plans for outings and gatherings, think about the steps you can take to reduce the risk of COVID-19."
Sutcliffe says efforts to stop the spread and bring case counts back down require the cooperation of the public as well as strong public health guidelines.
“We can only do this work effectively with the patience, kindness, and full cooperation of everyone we need to contact,” Sutcliffe said.
