Update from Halton Region's Medical Officer of Health | COVID-19 – May 1, 2020

When COVID-19 started, provincial modelling suggested that we would experience a significant spike in cases, or sharp increase on our “curve”, within our community. However, our current data is suggesting that we are doing better than we had planned for. The curve of COVID-19 is starting to lessen — and we’ve done that together.

You have stayed home as much as possible, practiced physical distancing and maintained proper hand hygiene. Halton Region Public Health, our local municipalities and community partners have put in place public health guidelines that have limited the spread of the virus.

We are taking steps in the right direction, but there is still more work to do. We are still working hard to completely flatten the curve and end COVID-19. Over 250 Halton Region Public Health have:

– responded to over 10,000 inquiries from residents and community partners; managed over 500 cases, including regular check-ins with confirmed cases;
– identified, traced and advised over 3,500 people who have come into contact with confirmed cases; and,
– worked with all 46 long-term care and retirement homes to prevent and contain outbreaks.
– Halton Region Paramedics have tested over 570 residents who cannot access an assessment centre.

Through combined efforts, we have likely prevented thousands of cases and well over a hundred deaths in Halton, and we’re not done yet.

You are starting to hear news from different levels of government as they announce plans to reopen our economy and bring us back to a new normal.
While these conversations are bringing about hope that this will all end soon, we still need to be patient and stay on course. We want to avoid going back to the start if we loosen up too quickly.

Staying home and maintaining physical distance is still important. If you’re out picking up essentials, please be patient with one another. It may take a few minutes longer, but it’s what we need to do to protect each other.

If you have a question about what you can do, please check reliable sources or call 311. Thank you for continuing to take steps to help protect the health of our community. Your decisions – big and small – are making a difference. Please keep it up.

We are all in this together and together we can stop the spread of COVID-19. For more information, please visit halton.ca/COVID19.

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