With the number of COVID-19 cases continuing to rise in Simcoe-Muskoka, local public health officials admit they won’t hesitate to reinstate restrictions if needed.
Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit medical officer of health Dr. Charles Gardner said he would consider bringing back capacity limits that were lifted in the fall if local cases continue to rise at such a quick rate.
The Simcoe-Muskoka region is currently above the provincial average for COVID-19 infection rates.
Gardner pointed to an open letter he issued Dec. 3 to the community, businesses and organizations reminding everyone of the importance of collectively doing everything possible to bring the present surge under control by abiding by the guidelines currently in place by the health unit.
“We need to do all we can to curb this as there is real potential for me to issue a letter of instruction requiring the capacity limits that had been lifted in October to be put back in place for businesses and venues in an effort to bring the present surge under control,” he said during Wednesday's media briefing.
“I would want individuals to be aware of this as well, and do all they can in their personal lives in addition to capacity limits being put back in place for business and venues," Gardner added.
He said he would also consider putting in place gathering limits in people’s personal settings, which he noted has been done in other health units that have experienced surges higher than what the local health unit is experiencing.
“They’ve had to take those measures in response to the surge they’re seeing and in response to the impasse they’re now seeing at hospitals,” Gardner said. “I advise people to take those measures to heart and implement them themselves.
"When it comes to the holiday season, choose a small, dedicated social circle for yourselves, be aware larger gatherings have a higher risk of transmission and therefore go with something much smaller. Remote is always safer, and in particular those who are unimmunized need to be very cautious with physical distancing and mask use," he said.
The new projections from the COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, issued Tuesday, predict Ontario’s hospitals may be strained by mid-January, with close to 400 COVID-19 patients in intensive care and possibly 3,000 new infections reported daily. This has Gardner concerned.
“I think there’s every indication that we are going to continue to go up for some time and it could be quite high,” he said. “Then there’s the great unknown about the omicron variant, and we do note that it has indeed resulted in a very rapid and high surge or transmission in South Africa where it was first identified.
The health unit also announced Wednesday that a cluster of COVID cases in a Simcoe County household has a "strong probability" of being the omicron variant. Further testing is underway.
"We are seeing a fairly rapid increase in the number of cases and clusters in this province. I believe it, too, will have an impact. It’s unknown at this time the degree, but there’s certainly the potential for it to be substantial and for it to be fast.”
Meanwhile, although the province has indicated it does not intend on a shut down following the Christmas break, Gardner said he believes a logical step would be putting previously lifted capacity limits back in place to help reduce cases.
“That certainly has an impact on business, but wouldn’t be as severe as the kind of near-complete shutdowns we’ve had in previous waves. I think time will tell," he said.
