THUNDER BAY - With the number of COVID-19 cases continuing to surge in the city of Thunder Bay, the medical officer of health said there are no easy answers to get the spread under control, which is being fueled largely by people continuing to interact with others.
“At this point it’s gone past any particular outbreak or any particular situation,” said Dr. Janet DeMille, medical officer of health with the Thunder Bay District Health Unit.
“It’s kind of taken on a life of it’s own as it spreads. It is spreading within families and each family member can be spreading it further in various other ways, including the workplace or what we saw in the schools.”
On Tuesday, the health unit announced 58 new positive cases of COVID-19, along with two additional deaths related to the virus. There are 458 active cases in the district and the cumulative total since the pandemic began has reached 2,082.
In February and March alone, there has been a total of 1,115 new cases and of the 470 cases announced in the first nine days of March, 258 are the result of close contact.
“We do see that people are in general having more interactions with others, leading to the spread,” DeMille said. “Sometimes that’s just a causal interaction that someone might have with someone else for 15 minutes. Sometimes that’s people getting together to have dinner. We are seeing a variety of situations that are happening.”
There has also been a surge in the number of hospitalizations in recent weeks, with 44 people admitted to the COVID-19 unit at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and 13 in the intensive care unit.
DeMille said the higher number of cases correlates with more hospitalizations as there are more instances of people having serious symptoms.
“It’s also a reflection of age as well as underlying health conditions that could predispose someone with COVID if they have it,” DeMille added. “So I think that’s what we are seeing.”
Getting these numbers under control is a matter of staying home as much as possible and reducing the number of interactions people have with others.
“The COVID-19 situation is very significant,” DeMille said. “This is not going to go away over night. We can make it go away faster if we are practicing all of those measures. Reducing our interactions, staying home, getting tested.”
DeMille added that public health officials are continuing to look at any other options that could help get the numbers down again, but she warns there are no quick fixes.
“It’s about trying to get the messaging out to people. It’s about looking at schools being opened or not,” she said.
“We are still within that two week period where they are closed. All of these things are being looked at. We are getting more vaccines here, so using the vaccine to try and reduce the cases. There is no easy answer at this point at all.”
DeMille added she has been having discussions with local school boards and public health officials on when schools might be permitted to reopen to in-person learning and she expects more information will be made available in the coming days.
Vaccinations are continuing throughout the district, with high priority health care workers being immunized, seniors over the age of 85-years-old, First Nations communities, as well as vulnerable segments of the population through clinics held by community partners.
Correctional staff and inmates in the district will also be receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. The Thunder Bay District Jail and Thunder Bay Correctional Centre experienced outbreaks of COVID-19 in January and February. While they are largely contained now, DeMille said there is still an increased risk for those populations.
“That is one of the groups we are looking at for immunization and the staff at correctional centres as well,” DeMille said. “We know that kind of setting will remain at risk, as long as our community rates are high. Protecting the staff is an important part of reducing the spread.”
Fortunately, there are no confirmed cases of any COVID-19 variants in the district, but the Ministry of Health is continuing to screen cases.
DeMille stressed it is up to everyone to reduce interactions with others and follow all public health guidelines to help contain the growing spread.
“We can do this. I am confident we can do this,” she said. “But it’s not going to be easy.”
