Office of the Mayor and Council update
September 15, 2021
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Halton COVID cases rise above Science Table’s recommended threshold: MOH
In today’s update to Halton Regional Council, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Hamidah Meghani announced that in the last few days, cases have risen above the Science Table’s recommended threshold of 25 cases per 100,000 population. She noted that as of September 12, the incidence rate was approximately 30 new cases per 100,000.
Dr. Meghani noted that this threshold was established prior to widespread vaccination, but says that when cases rise above the threshold it is recommended that people work from home as much as possible, only leave home for essential purposes and restrict indoor activities.
In light of this increase, and despite widespread vaccination, Dr. Meghani says it remains important to follow public health measures, such as physical distancing and wearing a mask.
Noting that vaccination provides protection against severe health outcomes, Dr. Meghani shared that hospitalization of COVID patients have plateaued in Halton hospitals. A snapshot of data from this past Monday, Sept. 13 shows that two-thirds of patients in Halton hospitals were Halton residents, one-third were not residents of Halton and that 78 per cent of patients were under the age of 60 with none known to reside in a long term care home.
With our community in the fourth wave of COVID-19, Dr. Meghani says that it’s expected the increased transmissibility of the Delta variant will substantially affect the scope of the wave, that all age groups will be affected and there is the potential to exceed ICU capacity.
Dr. Meghani says that if contacts continue as they are now, through fall, we could see 9,000 cases per day in October. However, if contacts decrease, cases could get below 500 cases by October. To avoid a lockdown in the fall,
Dr. Meghani notes that vaccination needs to accelerate substantially, in addition to reducing contacts until vaccination is high enough to protect the population.
Vaccination rates in Halton have dropped off from less than 1,000 per day in September from 11,000 per day the last week in June.
According to the MOH, it is expected and normal to see a small number of people contracting COVID-19 after they have been vaccinated, these are called vaccine breakthrough cases. She notes that, to date, out of the 440,960 Halton residents who have been immunized with two doses of COVID-19 vaccine, only 0.08 per cent were diagnosed with COVID-19 after vaccination.
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To see today’s updated COVID-19 statistics for Oakville from Halton’s Public Health Unit CLICK HERE
10.1.3
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Today Halton is reporting 21 new cases of COVID-19 since yesterday’s report, adjusting the seven-day average to 26 cases per day.
Oakville is reporting + 7 new cases since yesterday’s report of 5,772 to now 5,779.
Oakville is reporting + 9 new recoveries since yesterday’s report of 5,852 to now 5,861.
Oakville made up 33 per cent of the cases today;
· Oakville reporting 7
· Milton reporting 5
· Burlington reporting 6
· Halton Hills reporting 3
There are currently 51 Active Cases in Oakville and 1 COVID-19 patients being cared for at OTMH (this number includes transfers from facilities outside of Halton Region).
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Today Ontario is reporting a total of 576,389 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario reported to date. There are 346 reported to be currently hospitalized. Compared to the previous day, this represents:
· An increase of 593 confirmed cases (percent change of +2.8%)
· An increase of 4* deaths (percent change of -33.3%)
· An increase of 755 resolved cases (percent change of +10.5%)
Today there are 188 patients in Ontario ICUs with 23 testing negative for COVID-19 and 165 testing positive and remain infectious. 125 of those remain on ventilators.
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Source: Public Health Ontario
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Halton COVID-19 Monitoring Dashboard
The indicators are based on the Ontario Public Health Unit Core Indicators for COVID-19 Monitoring, with targets adapted to the local Halton context and population. Together the indicators are intended to provide an overall snapshot of current local data on the COVID-19 pandemic, to keep the community informed and assist with local decision-making.
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As of today, Canada had reported 1,555,121 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 42,333 considered active. The death toll stood at 27,263.
As of Monday afternoon, more than 225 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. The reported global death toll stood at more than 4.6 million.
10.1.3
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Ontario's COVID-19 vaccination rollout
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To visit the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table Dashboard, click here.
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Halton's COVID-19 vaccination program
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COVID-19 vaccines for Ontario
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As of Wednesday, 21,247,717 doses of approved COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Ontario. 10,215,951 people from Ontario are fully vaccinated.
As of Wednesday, more than 54,642,181 doses of approved COVID-19 vaccines have been administered across Canada.
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The Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) 3 District Criminal Investigation Bureau has made multiple arrests in connection with a series of frauds related to a romance scam operating in Burlington.
In October and November 2020, a senior victim was contacted by a person claiming to be a retired Canadian Army Sergeant (named Darren Michaelson), and began an online romantic relationship.
Over a number of weeks, the victim was deceived into sending money to persons they believed were assisting Michaelson with legal troubles and assistance returning to Canada.
The victim was defrauded of more than $150,000.
A 21 year old female of Oakville has been arrested and charged with:
- Fraud Over $5,000
- Possession of Property Obtained by Crime over $5,000
- Laundering the Proceeds of Crime
A 38 year old female from of London has been arrested and charged with:
A 36 year old male of Toronto has been arrested and charged with:
A 35 year old male of Toronto has been arrested and charged with:
- Fraud Over $5,000
- Possession of Property Obtained by Crime over $5,000
- Laundering the Proceeds of Crime
A 28 year old male of Toronto has been arrested and charged with:
- Fraud Over $5,000
- Laundering the Proceeds of Crime
Further arrests are anticipated and police believe there may be additional victims.
Police would like to remind residents to danger and frequency of these types of scam. Do not send money or gift cards to persons you have not met in person. Do not provide your personal information such as financial documents, identification or passwords when communicating online.
More information on the scams can be found on the Anti-Fraud Centre website or the Halton Regional Police Service website.
https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm
https://www.haltonpolice.ca/en/staying-safe/frauds-and-scams.aspx
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center, online romance scams took more than $7.3 million from Canadians in 2020 alone.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact Detective Constable Derek Gray of the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau - Seniors Liaison Team at 905-825-4747 ext. 2344
Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers.
"See something? Hear something? Know something? Contact Crime Stoppers" at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca.
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Halton Public Health is investigating new COVID-19 cases at Oakville schools Wednesday (Sept. 15), according to both school boards.
The Halton District School Board is reporting a student at Eastview Public School in Oakville has been infected with COVID-19 and it has triggered a classroom closure to manage close contacts and spread of the disease.
Meanwhile, the Halton Catholic District School Board is reporting a new case at Oakville's St. Marguerite D'Youville Catholic Elementary Secondary School that has also led to a classroom closure.
Read full story here
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Halton Region reported 30 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, the second straight day with 30 or more cases.
Almost half of the cases (14) were in Burlington, which became the third municipality to surpass the 5,000 case mark since the beginning of the pandemic. Oakville had 10 cases, Milton had four and Halton Hills had two.
Read full story
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Beginning the week of Sept. 20, Halton public health will be operating community immunization clinics to help students catch up on Hepatitis B, HPV and Meningococcal vaccines.
Read the full story
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The Ontario government is expanding GO train service to Southwestern Ontario with weekday trips between London and Toronto. The new service will also connect customers to Stratford and St. Marys using GO Transit services.
Read full release
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The Ontario government is providing $7.75 million to help create a permanent emergency shelter for women and families experiencing homelessness in Windsor.
“Our government's Social Services Relief Fund is designed to provide immediate housing and homelessness program relief in communities across Ontario,” said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “By investing $7.75 million in Windsor, we continue to support innovative housing projects to give those in need a safe place to call home and help them get back on their feet.”
Read the full story
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Ontario reported nearly 600 new COVID-19 cases and five more deaths on Wednesday as the number of coronavirus tests processed hit a high not seen in over three months.
Provincial health officials logged 593 new infections today, up from 577 yesterday and from 554 cases a week ago.
Among the latest cases, 348 of those individuals are unvaccinated, 44 are partially vaccinated, 146 are fully vaccinated and 55 have an unknown vaccination status.
Read the full story
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In a long address to her medical colleagues Monday night, Alberta's top doctor was candid in laying out what decision makers knew and when.
She said the lifting of virtually all public health restrictions on July 1 was based on a belief that while cases may rise, the severe outcomes would remain low.
"Within a couple of weeks [. . .] we weren't seeing the decoupling we expected,” said Dr. Hinshaw.
Read the full release
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B.C.'s vaccine card program requiring proof to enter many non-essential businesses is now in effect.
As of Monday, anyone visiting discretionary businesses like sit-down restaurants, movie theatres and fitness centres must show proof that they've had at least one COVID-19 shot. By Oct. 24, they'll need to show proof they're fully vaccinated.
Employees working at those establishments don't need to show proof they've been vaccinated, unless their employer requires them to.
Read the full release
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Canada’s headline inflation rate reached its highest point in nearly two decades last month as the consumer price index in August rose 4.1 per cent compared with a year ago.
The annual pace grew from the 3.7 per cent registered in July, and marked the largest year-over-year inflation increase since March 2003.
Read the full story
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COVID-19 cases in children have risen 30-fold since late June and are now at record highs, with nearly 500,000 new child cases reported in the past two weeks, according to the latest data released by the American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday. Pediatric cases have "increased exponentially," the AAP said in a statement.
Read the full story
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New York will ban the sale of fossil fuel vehicles starting in 2035 and require all new cars to produce zero emissions. The new law, signed by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul last week, will help slash the state’s carbon pollution by 35 percent. It would put New York well on its way to achieving its statewide carbon reduction goals of 85 percent below 1990 levels.
Read the full story
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is ditching vaccine passports, mandatory face mask rules and work-from-home regulations, and will instead rely mainly on vaccinations to get the country through the winter months.
Mr. Johnson outlined the government’s pandemic strategy for England on Tuesday and it centred largely on expanding vaccinations to younger teenagers and launching a booster-shot program for front-line health care staff and people over the age of 50. Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which run their own health care systems, are expected to largely follow suit.
Read the full story
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Every Wednesday drinking water is delivered to the home of Dylan Whiteduck, chief of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg near Maniwaki, Que.
His home, which is just a 90-minute drive from Parliament Hill, used to belong to his grandmother, and for years the water coming from the tap has been unsafe to drink.
"All these politicians live on our unceded traditional territory in Ottawa. ... So close to us, [yet] we don't have access to this clean drinking water," said Whiteduck, who partly blamed unsafe levels of uranium in the well water.
Read the full story
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The people who happen to be in a city center at any given moment may seem like a random collection of individuals. But new research featuring a simple mathematical law shows that urban travel patterns worldwide are, in fact, remarkably predictable regardless of location—an insight that could enhance models of disease spread and help to optimize city planning.
Read the full story
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Food Banks experiencing record demand
Oakville's food banks are in record-breaking demand. If you can donate anything, please do. Your help is needed.
Fareshare Food Bank Oakville:
905-847-3988
oakvillefoodbank@gmail.com
Kerr Street Mission
905-845-7485
kerrstreet.com
The Salvation Army Oakville
salvationarmy.ca
Oakville Meals on Wheels continues to operate
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Oakville Meals on Wheels continues to operate under increased safety measures.
Learn more
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Oakville Fare Share Food Bank hours
The demand for service at the Oakville Fare Share Food Bank have almost doubled over the last nine months and as a result, hours will increase to serve everyone.
The new hours are:
Monday 9.30 am to 2.30 p.m.
Thursday 2 to 7 p.m.
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