Tag Archives: Westport

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Ontario Moving to Step Two of Roadmap to Reopen on June 30

CONTINUING IMPROVEMENTS IN KEY INDICATORS ALLOWING PROVINCE TO EASE ADDITIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURES

JUNE 24, 2021

PREMIER’S OFFICE NEWS RELEASE

TORONTO — With key public health and health care indicators continuing to improve, the provincewide vaccination rate now surpassing the targets outlined in the province’s Roadmap to Reopen, and on the recommendation of the the Chief Medical Officer of Health, the Ontario government is moving the province into Step Two of its Roadmap to Reopen at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, June 30, 2021.

“Because of the tireless work of our health care heroes, and the record setting success of our vaccine rollout, we are able to move into Step Two ahead of schedule on June 30 with the support of our public health experts” said Premier Doug Ford. “We are proceeding safely with the re-opening of our province and will continue to work around the clock until the job is done.”

In order to enter Step Two of the Roadmap, Ontario needed to have vaccinated 70 per cent of adults with one dose and 20 per cent with two doses for at least two weeks, ensuring a strong level of protection against COVID-19. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of Ontario’s health care partners, as of June 23, 2021, over 76 per cent of the population in Ontario ages 18 and over have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and over 29 per cent have received their second dose. More than 13.3 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered provincewide.

Before entering Step Two, the province also needed to see continued improvement in key public health and health care indicators, including hospitalizations, ICU occupancy and the weekly cases incidence rates. After entering Step One, during the period of June 11 to 17, 2021, the provincial case rate decreased by 24.6 per cent. As of June 22, the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs is 305, including 10 patients from Manitoba, as compared to 450 two weeks ago. The province expects these positive trends to continue over the coming days before entering Step Two.

“Due to a continued improvement in key indicators, Ontario is ready to enter Step Two of our Roadmap, allowing us to safely and gradually ease public health measures while continuing to stop the spread of COVID-19,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “Thank you to the Ontarians who rolled up their sleeves to help us reach this exciting milestone. Every dose administered brings us one step closer to the things we’ve missed, so please sign up to receive the vaccine when it’s your turn.”

Step Two of the Roadmap focuses on the resumption of more outdoor activities and limited indoor services with small numbers of people where face coverings are worn, with other restrictions in place. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Outdoor social gatherings and organized public events with up to 25 people;
  • Indoor social gatherings and organized public events with up to 5 people;
  • Essential and other select retail permitted at 50 per cent capacity;
  • Non-essential retail permitted at 25 per cent capacity;
  • Personal care services where face coverings can be worn at all times, and at 25 per cent capacity and other restrictions;
  • Outdoor dining with up to 6 people per table, with exceptions for larger households and other restrictions;
  • Indoor religious services, rites, or ceremonies, including wedding services and funeral services permitted at up to 25 per cent capacity of the particular room;
  • Outdoor fitness classes limited to the number of people who can maintain 3 metres of physical distance;
  • Outdoor sports without contact or modified to avoid contact, with no specified limit on number of people or teams participating, with restrictions;
  • Overnight camps for children operating in a manner consistent with the safety guidelines produced by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health;
  • Outdoor sport facilities with spectators permitted at 25 per cent capacity;
  • Outdoor concert venues, theatres and cinemas, with spectators permitted at 25 per cent capacity;
  • Outdoor horse racing and motor speedways, with spectators permitted at 25 per cent capacity;
  • Outdoor fairs, rural exhibitions, festivals, permitted at 25 per cent capacity and with other restrictions.

Please view the regulation for the full list of public health and workplace safety measures that need to be followed.

While the province has surpassed Step Three vaccination targets, Ontario may remain in Step Two for a period of approximately 21 days to allow the most recent vaccinations to reach their full effectiveness and to evaluate any impacts of moving to Step Two on key public health and health care indicators. When it is determined to be safe, the province will promptly move to Step Three of the Roadmap to Reopen.

“Due to the continued commitment of Ontarians adhering to public health measures and going out to get vaccinated, we have seen our key health indicators continue to improve across the province,” said Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health. “While we can now begin preparing to ease public health measures under the Roadmap, the fight against COVID-19 is not over and we must continue adhering to the public health advice and measures currently in place to maintain this great progress.”

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DATE CHANGE FOR 2ND WESTPORT VACCINE – HELP SPREAD THE WORD

If you received your first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at the community clinic in WESTPORT on April 20, you will be automatically rebooked into the second dose clinic with an appointment on July 5 at the same time as your first dose .  The Health Unit will attempt to notify all clients by email or phone to inform them of this change. Please share this information with others, particularly those who you know do not have internet.

Full media release from the Health Unit follows:

Media Release – LEEDS, GRENVILLE AND LANARK DISTRICT HEALTH UNIT

June 18, 2021

Vaccine Second Doses in LGL

Current Appointment Availability Status

We are pleased that the Province has announced more people are eligible to receive their second dose of vaccine as of Monday, June 21 and during the week of June 28.  There are limited appointments available now in the fixed site clinics in Brockville, Almonte, Kemptville, and Smiths Falls while we wait for our allocation of vaccine for July. As soon as our supply is known, we will make more appointments available and advise the public.

The options for accessing vaccine locally are:

·         Leeds, Grenville and Lanark online booking portal or Provincial Portal

·         Add your name to the weekly contingency list

·         Check for a participating pharmacy near you. Pharmacies may have either Pfizer or Moderna and offer first doses to 12+ and second doses to those who are eligible for them

·         Call our local Leeds, Grenville, Lanark Booking Centre toll-free at 1-844-369-1234, open daily 8:30am to 4:00pm

Earlier Community Second Dose Vaccine Clinics 

Individuals who received their first dose of mRNA vaccine at one of the special community clinics in towns across Leeds, Grenville and Lanark, will now be able to receive their second dose at the same location during the first two weeks of July.

What does this mean for residents?

If you received your first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at one of the community clinics listed below, you will be automatically rebooked into the second dose clinic with an appointment at the same time and same location as your first dose.  The Health Unit will attempt to notify all clients by email or phone to inform them of this change.

If you received your first dose at this community clinic:Your second dose is now scheduled for the same time and location on this earlier date:
Westport – April 20Westport – July 5
Elgin – April 27Elgin – July 16
Carleton Place – May 7Carleton Place – July 17
Prescott – May 11Prescott – July 6
Athens – May 18Athens – July 8
Perth – May 21Perth – July 12
Gananoque – May 25Gananoque – July 10
Lanark Village – June 11Lanark Village – July 14

What about residents who no longer require their second dose appointment at the community clinic?

·         Kindly notify us by contacting the local Leeds, Grenville, Lanark Booking Centre toll-free at 1-844-369-1234, open daily 8:30am to 4:00pm. This will help make your cancelled appointment available for others to book

What about residents that cannot attend the new, rescheduled date at the community clinic?

·         Contact the local Leeds, Grenville, Lanark Booking Centre toll-free at 1-844-369-1234, open daily 8:30am to 4:00pm, to reschedule your appointment

For more information about COVID-19 vaccine, visit https://healthunit.org/covid-19-vaccine/

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NEW DATE FOR WESTPORT’S 2ND VACCINE CLINIC – JULY 5

GREAT NEWS! Leeds, Grenville and Lanark Public Health announced today that the 2nd vaccine clinic at the arena will occur on Monday, July 5. The Ministry has asked Public Health Units to expedite second vaccines to provide the best defence against the Delta variant.

This date change only affects people who attended the first vaccine clinic at the arena on April 20 and were given an appointment to return for the second vaccine on August 10.

The changes to the schedule are being made by Leeds, Grenville and Lanark Public Health on the provincial scheduling programme, not by our Pharmacist Tracey Phillips. Each person affected by this rescheduling will receive an email from Leeds, Grenville and Lanark Public Health in the next week (or so) notifying you of the change of date and give you the time of your appointment. For those people who did not provide an email address, Leeds, Grenville and Lanark Public Health will contact you by phone. So mark your calendars for July 5 and watch your email for more information from Leeds, Grenville and Lanark Public Health.

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Ontario to Move to Step One of Roadmap to Reopen this FRIDAY, June 11

Improvements in Key Indicators Allowing Province to Begin the Safe and Gradual Lifting of Public Health Measures

June 07, 2021
Premier’s Office

TORONTO — Based on the province wide vaccination rate and continuing improvements in key public health and health system indicators, the Ontario government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, will move the province into Step One of its Roadmap to Reopen at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, June 11, 2021.

“Thanks to the ongoing success of Team Ontario’s vaccine rollout and the ongoing improvements in public health trends, we are able to enter step one of the Roadmap and begin to safely and cautiously lift restrictions,” said Premier Doug Ford. “The only reason we’re able to do so is because of the enormous sacrifices made by individuals, families and communities across Ontario. As we begin to enjoy the benefits of the first step in our roadmap like meeting friends on a patio or visiting your favourite local store, please do so safely by continuing to follow all public health guidelines.”

In order to safely enter Step One of the Roadmap to Reopen, Ontario needed to have vaccinated 60 per cent of adults with at least one dose for two weeks or longer, ensuring the first dose offers a strong level of protection against COVID-19. As of June 6, 2021 at 8:00 p.m., 72 per cent of the 18+ population in Ontario had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine with over 10 million doses now having been administered.

Before entering Step One, the province also needed to see continued improvement in key public health and health system indicators. During the period of May 25 to 31, 2021, the provincial case rate decreased by 35.1 per cent. As of June 6, the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs is 497, including 31 patients from Manitoba, as compared to 687 two weeks ago. The province’s situation is currently exceeding the best-case scenario presented in recent modelling, which indicated the province would reach below 1,000 new daily infections by June 30, 2021. The province expects these trends to continue over the coming days before entering Step One.

“Thanks to the tremendous efforts of every Ontarian, beginning June 11 we will be able to cautiously lift public health measures in the settings we know are safest,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “While this is exciting news, as we move to enter Step One of Ontario’s Roadmap it remains critical that all Ontarians continue to follow public health advice and roll up their sleeves to receive the vaccine.”

Step One of the Roadmap focuses on the resumption of more outdoor activities with smaller crowds where risk of transmission is lower. It will also permit more limited indoor settings to be open, all with restrictions in place. In consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, the Ontario government has amended Step One to also permit indoor religious services, rites and ceremonies, including wedding and funeral services limited to 15 per cent capacity.

Step One of the Roadmap to Reopen includes but is not limited to:

  • Outdoor social gatherings and organized public events with up to 10 people;
  • Outdoor religious services, rites, or ceremonies, including wedding services and funeral services, capped at the number of people that can maintain a physical distance of two metres;
  • Indoor religious services, rites, or ceremonies, including wedding services and funeral services permitted at up to 15 per cent capacity of the particular room;
  • Non-essential retail permitted at 15 per cent capacity, with no restrictions on the goods that can be sold;
  • Essential and other select retail permitted at 25 per cent capacity, with no restrictions on the goods that can be sold;
  • Outdoor dining with up to four people per table, with exceptions for larger households;
  • Outdoor fitness classes, outdoor groups in personal training and outdoor individual/team sport training to be permitted with up to 10 people, among other restrictions;
  • Day camps for children permitted to operate in a manner consistent with the safety guidelines for COVID-19 produced by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health;
  • Overnight camping at campgrounds and campsites, including Ontario Parks, and short-term rentals;
  • Concert venues, theatres and cinemas may open outdoors for the purpose of rehearsing or performing a recorded or broadcasted concert, artistic event, theatrical performance or other performance with no more than 10 performers, among other restrictions;
  • Outdoor horse racing tracks and motor speedways permitted to operate without spectators; and
  • Outdoor attractions such as zoos, landmarks, historic sites, botanical gardens with capacity and other restrictions.

In addition, to support students who have worked incredibly hard throughout the pandemic, the government is enabling school boards for public and private elementary and high schools to invite students back for brief outdoor end-of-year celebration. Any in-person school year celebrations will need to meet specific requirements.

The province will remain in Step One for at least 21 days to evaluate any impacts on key public health and health system indicators. If at the end of the 21 days the province has vaccinated 70 per cent of adults with one dose and 20 per cent of adults with two doses and there are continued improvements in other key public health and health system indicators, the province will move to Step Two of the Roadmap.

All public health and workplace safety measures currently in place will remain in effect until the province moves to Step One on June 11, 2021 at 12:01 a.m. During this time, the government will continue to work with stakeholders on their reopening plans, including targeted measures for specific sectors, institutions and other settings to ensure that they have full awareness of when they can begin to safely reopen and how.

“While we have reached the point where we can safely move into Step One, now is not the time to get complacent,” said Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health. “We must all remain vigilant, as the fight against COVID-19 is not over. By continuing to follow public health advice and measures we can continue to reduce transmission, safeguard health system capacity and save lives.”