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North Bay Jail COVID outbreak tops 100

One person has died and three people remain hospitalized in the district
BayToday Staff
2022 01 14 North Bay Jail
North Bay Jail on Trout Lake RoadChris Dawson/BayToday.

The COVID count outbreak at the North Bay Jail has now broken through the 100 mark as the North Bay Parry Sound Health Unit reports 105 cases today.

BayToday has learned from the Minister of the Solicitor General that more than a quarter of the North Bay Jail staff are currently self-isolating in their home related to the COVID-19 outbreak at the facility.  

Approximately 30 per cent of North Bay Jail staff are currently self-isolating at home related to the current outbreak at the facility," Andrew Morrison, media relations, Ministry of the Solicitor General.  

See: North Bay Jail to transfer inmates during COVID-19 outbreak due to staffing concerns

Meanwhile, the Health Unit reports another death, bringing the total to 10. Three people remain hospitalized in the district.

Meanwhile, Health Canada has approved Pfizer's antiviral treatment for COVID-19 and the drug maker says some of it has already been delivered for use.

The authorization posted to the Health Canada website Monday morning says the treatment can be used for adult patients with mild or moderate COVID-19 who are also at high risk of becoming more seriously ill.

See:COVID-19: Health Canada approves Pfizer antiviral treatment

On Jan. 17, Public Health Ontario is reporting 8,521 new COVID cases, however, new case counts no longer reflect COVID-19 transmission in the province as testing is reserved nearly exclusively for hospitalized patients and residents and staff at high-risk congregate settings. 

Hospitalization data in today's report is underestimated as not all hospitals report their bed census data on the weekend. There are at least 3,887 people hospitalized with COVID-19, the breakdown of how many were admitted because of COVID vs for a different reason was not updated by the province at publication time. 

To date, Public Health Ontario has confirmed 956,607 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic and reported 851,365 recoveries and 10,628 deaths.

The Jan. 17 updates provided by the province's public health agency and the ministry of health also reported the following data:

Cases

  • 8,292 recoveries and 22 deaths since yesterday's report. The deaths reported have all occurred within the last month.
  • There are 94,614 active, lab-confirmed cases in Ontario
  • The new cases reported today include 1,250 unvaccinated people, 281 partially vaccinated people, and 6,511 fully vaccinated people, 479 cases were reported with vaccination status unknown. 
  • The seven-day average by vaccination status indicated 53 cases per 100,000 unvaccinated people, 41 cases per 100,000 partially vaccinated people, and 66 cases per 100,000 fully vaccinated people. 
  • Lab-confirmed testing is mostly limited to those who live in high-risk congregate care settings or work in them. As such a majority of the people being tested are fully vaccinated as per provincial or workplace mandatory vaccine policies.

Hospitalizations

  • 3,887 people are in hospital testing positive for COVID-19.
  • Hospitalization data is underestimated today as more than 10 per cent of Ontario hospitals do not report to the provincial bed census on weekends. 
  • Vaccination status for hospitalized cases is not updated on Sunday or Monday.
  • There are 578 patients in Ontario ICUs with COVID.
  • There are 343 COVID patients on ventilators.

Testing

  • The province reported 37,059 tests were processed yesterday, resulting in a 24.2 per cent positivity. Another 38,774 tests are still being processed. 

As of today's report, 11.5 million people in Ontario (78 per cent of the population) are fully vaccinated, and five per cent of the province has one dose of COVID vaccine. There are 5.5 million people in Ontario with three doses of vaccine.

The cumulative average incidence rate in the province is 6,492.5 cases per 100,000 people in Ontario.

Ontario's average seven-day incidence rate from Jan. 7 to Jan. 13 was 481 cases per 100,000 people, which decreased 20.7 per cent over the seven-day period starting on Jan. 1.

For more on the province's breakdown of vaccination status, click here.

Northern Ontario 

According to provincial data, in the north there are currently 78 people with COVID-19 in hospital, down from 121 yesterday. There are 29 people in ICU, which is the same as yesterday, and 13 people on ventilators, which is the same yesterday. The regional data is not broken down to clarify the number of people in hospital for a COVID-related reason and who was admitted to hospital for another reason then tested positive.

In northern Ontario, the breakdown of Public Health Ontario data for cases and vaccination is:

  • North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit: The health unit has reported 2,248 cases, 243 known active cases and four hospitalizations. Of the eligible population five years and older, 85 per cent of people have at least one dose of the vaccine and 80 per cent have both doses. For the eligible population 18 years and older, 48 per cent have a booster.
  • Algoma Public Health: The health unit has reported 2,991 cases, 568 known active cases and 12 current hospitalizations, including one person who is from out of region but in Algoma. Of the eligible population five years and older, 87 per cent of people have at least one dose of the vaccine and 81 per cent have both doses. Of the population 18 years and older, 47 per cent have a booster.
  • Porcupine Health Unit: The health unit has reported 3,784 cases. The number of active cases has not been updated since Friday, the health unit does not report hospitalizations. Of the eligible population five years and older, 88 per cent of people have at least one dose of the vaccine and 82 per cent have both doses. For the eligible population 18 years and older, 45 per cent have a booster.
  • Public Health Sudbury and Districts: The health unit has reported 7,664 cases. The health unit has not update cases or recoveries since Friday. As of Jan. 14, there were 49 COVID-positive patients at Health Sciences North, including three in ICU. Of the eligible population five years and older, 87 per cent of people have at least one dose of the vaccine and 81 per cent have both doses. For the eligible population 18 years and older, 45 per cent have a booster.
  • Timiskaming Health Unit: The health unit has reported 877 cases, 100 known active cases, and three hospitalizations, including two people in ICU. Of the eligible population five years and older, 84 per cent of people have at least one dose of the vaccine and 78 per cent have both doses. For the eligible population 18 years and older, 50 per cent have a booster.
  • Northwestern Health Unit: The health unit has reported 2,705 cases, 281 known active cases and six hospitalizations. Of the eligible population five years and older, 94 per cent of people have at least one dose of the vaccine and 85 per cent have both doses. For the eligible population 18 years and older, 47 per cent have a booster.
  • Thunder Bay District Health Unit: The health unit has reported 5,731 cases, 290 known active cases and 16 hospitalizations, including two people in ICU. Of the eligible population five years and older, 88 per cent of people have at least one dose of the vaccine and 81 per cent have both doses. For the eligible population 18 years and older, 42 per cent have a booster.

The data from Northern Ontario health units is based on what was available at 10:30 a.m. today.