For Immediate Release
February 26, 2021
Background: Over the past month, our community has seen a decrease in confirmed COVID-19 cases and high risk contacts locally, after having experienced a spike in cases over the months of December and January. The provincial lockdown and stay-at home order, along with all the other precautions in place, have had a positive impact on helping reduce the spread of the virus in our area and elsewhere in the province. At the time of this release, Haliburton-Kawartha-Pine Ridge District Health Unit (HKPR DHU) is currently reporting a total of 51 confirmed COVID-19 cases for Haliburton County since the outset of the pandemic; the HKPR DHU, like all other public health units, is mandated to report based on the geographical boundaries within which it provides service, which means the cases reported for the Haliburton region only include those among persons residing within the boundaries of Haliburton County, regardless of where the testing takes place. Our Assessment Centre, however, provides testing to our broader community, including persons who reside outside of the Haliburton County border but who are still a part of our community. In order to complement the HKPR PHU reports, and provide a sense of the prevalence of COVID-19 in our community that is not restricted by geographical boundaries, our Assessment Centre has begun reporting its ‘positivity rate’. The positivity rate represents the percentage of persons tested at our Assessment Centre who test positive, over a designated two-week period.
Current Positivity Rate: Our most recent positivity rate is 0.42% (for the period of February 8 to 19), with an average of 112 tests being completed each week during that time period. HKPR PHU reported a total of 1 new case for Haliburton County within the same time period; it is important to note that the positivity rate still may not represent all positive COVID-19 cases in our community, but only those who are identified through testing at our local Assessment Centre; some persons in our community who reside outside of Haliburton County borders may be tested at other locations, and would not be included in the Assessment Centre positivity rate or the HKPR DHU total case numbers. Similarly, it is also important to note that all cases reported through HKPR DHU for Haliburton County may not be included in the Assessment Centre positivity rate, as some tests may have been completed elsewhere.
Our team strongly believes it is important for our community to be aware of the prevalence of COVID-19 locally, and encourages everyone to continue adhering to all the public health measures to help prevent further spread of the virus, in order to keep our community safe and to help protect our local healthcare system and resources. We would like to thank all of you for your efforts to date in this regard, and for your continued efforts to keep our community prevalence rates low.
Released by the Haliburton Highlands Family Health Team, Haliburton County Paramedic Service, and Haliburton Highlands Health Services.
February 26, 2021
Background: Over the past month, our community has seen a decrease in confirmed COVID-19 cases and high risk contacts locally, after having experienced a spike in cases over the months of December and January. The provincial lockdown and stay-at home order, along with all the other precautions in place, have had a positive impact on helping reduce the spread of the virus in our area and elsewhere in the province. At the time of this release, Haliburton-Kawartha-Pine Ridge District Health Unit (HKPR DHU) is currently reporting a total of 51 confirmed COVID-19 cases for Haliburton County since the outset of the pandemic; the HKPR DHU, like all other public health units, is mandated to report based on the geographical boundaries within which it provides service, which means the cases reported for the Haliburton region only include those among persons residing within the boundaries of Haliburton County, regardless of where the testing takes place. Our Assessment Centre, however, provides testing to our broader community, including persons who reside outside of the Haliburton County border but who are still a part of our community. In order to complement the HKPR PHU reports, and provide a sense of the prevalence of COVID-19 in our community that is not restricted by geographical boundaries, our Assessment Centre has begun reporting its ‘positivity rate’. The positivity rate represents the percentage of persons tested at our Assessment Centre who test positive, over a designated two-week period.
Current Positivity Rate: Our most recent positivity rate is 0.42% (for the period of February 8 to 19), with an average of 112 tests being completed each week during that time period. HKPR PHU reported a total of 1 new case for Haliburton County within the same time period; it is important to note that the positivity rate still may not represent all positive COVID-19 cases in our community, but only those who are identified through testing at our local Assessment Centre; some persons in our community who reside outside of Haliburton County borders may be tested at other locations, and would not be included in the Assessment Centre positivity rate or the HKPR DHU total case numbers. Similarly, it is also important to note that all cases reported through HKPR DHU for Haliburton County may not be included in the Assessment Centre positivity rate, as some tests may have been completed elsewhere.
Our team strongly believes it is important for our community to be aware of the prevalence of COVID-19 locally, and encourages everyone to continue adhering to all the public health measures to help prevent further spread of the virus, in order to keep our community safe and to help protect our local healthcare system and resources. We would like to thank all of you for your efforts to date in this regard, and for your continued efforts to keep our community prevalence rates low.
Released by the Haliburton Highlands Family Health Team, Haliburton County Paramedic Service, and Haliburton Highlands Health Services.