By Kaitlyn Clark
The Haldimand Press
HALDIMAND—The first COVID-19 vaccine was administered in England on Monday, December 8, 2020, signaling a potential light at the end of the tunnel. That same day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada expects to receive 249,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine by the end of the month, with an estimated 85,000 of those coming to Ontario. Premier Doug Ford said Ontario could receive its first, small batch of COVID-19 vaccine doses as early as next week. However, with the majority of Canadians not expected to begin receiving the vaccine until at least spring, many people find themselves battling the so-called ‘COVID fatigue.’ As months of restrictions wear down residents, some people are relaxing their approach to COVID-19 and taking more risks, despite the continued increase of new cases.
“All we’re left to do is try to have honest dialogue with the people we serve. I do recognize people are fatigued about the message and they’re fatigued about the interventions we advocate or propose,” said Haldimand Norfolk Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Shanker Nesathurai. “The advice from the public health service continues to be the same, which is to minimize the chance of transmission: for members of the community to engage in social distancing, wash their hands, avoid contacts outside their immediate household, and wear a mask when one cannot be two metres apart.”
Christmas Day will mark 11 months since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Canada – a Toronto man who had recently travelled to Wuhan, China. Canada would mark its first COVID death in the beginning of March, and the World Health Organization would declare the disease a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Since March, approximately 12,800 deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 in Canada, including 32 deaths here in Haldimand and Norfolk.
Nesathurai noted there are a number of factors to consider in determining the “burden of illness” for COVID-19: “Haldimand and Norfolk counties are part of the broader context of the Province of Ontario…. Province-wide I am concerned about the continuing elevation in numbers,” said Nesathurai. “I have to say the burden of illness continues to be a concern and is likely continuing to increase.”
Additional factors include deaths and the number of people hospitalized and/or on a ventilator. Nesathurai noted when Ontario reaches 150 people on a ventilator because of COVID-19, “we’re going to impact people on other health services.” As reported on December 8, due to COVID-19, Ontario had nearly 800 people hospitalized and 132 were on ventilators.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, I would say that Haldimand and Norfolk counties have suffered significantly as it relates to the number of people dying,” continued Nesathurai. He went on to look at the Provincial death rates, noting that in the week of November 30 to December 6 there was between seven to 35 COVID-19 attributed deaths per day in Ontario.
“I think in the year 2019 there was about 550 or so motor vehicle collision deaths (in Ontario). That’s under two deaths per day,” said Nesathurai. “For opioid related use, the projected number is about 2,000 deaths for the year 2020, so that’s about six deaths per day. It would appear that we have as many or multiples of deaths per day for COVID-19.”
On a national level, in 2018 Canada reported 1,922 fatalities from car accidents, or just over five deaths per day, and 4,372 deaths from opioids, or about 12 deaths per day. COVID-19 is regularly compared to the seasonal flu online. According to the Haldimand Norfolk Health Unit, the “flu causes about 12,200 hospitalizations and 3,500 deaths in Canada each year.” This would equate to just under 10 deaths per day across the country over 365 days. From the date of the first known COVID-19 case in Canada up to and including December 8, COVID-19 has caused approximately 40 deaths per day in Canada over 319 days.
“If there’s one thing I can emphasize, it’s stay within your household, especially for dining events,” concluded Nesathurai. “People dining with people from other households has been one vector of transmission in this health district. If there’s one thing that people can do for civic participation – I know the holidays are coming – stay within your family during this holiday season.”
On refusal to follow regulations
When asked what would happen if a business refused to follow the restrictions and regulations put in place by the Ontario government, Nesathurai responded: “I think the vast majority of people recognize that, despite the potential hardship, they’re going to comply with whatever is required…. When enforcement actions are considered there are mechanisms through the legal process to achieve those goals. I’m always reluctant to use enforcement mechanisms if we can somehow achieve adherence through education and persuasion. But, there are definitely enforcement mechanisms if that is what is required to advance the public health goal and ultimately keep people safe.”
