With Christmas just a little over two weeks away and holiday celebrations starting to ramp up, three southwestern Ontario health units are urging residents to keep the guest list small and to the fully vaccinated.
The medical officers of health for the Middlesex London Health Unit, Southwestern Public Health, and Huron Perth Public Health issued a joint letter on Thursday. In it, they make three recommendations for holiday gatherings as COVID-19 cases across the province climb to highs not seen since May.
"It is time to reduce opportunities for transmission before our health care system is overwhelmed," Dr. Alex Summers, Dr. Joyce Lock, and Dr. Miriam Klassen wrote.
The trio point to data released earlier this week by the Ontario Science Advisory and Modelling Consensus Tables which show the rise in transmission is due to the Delta variant with daily case counts likely to go even higher once the Omicron variant is factored in.
"Even without Omicron, cases are expected to rise steadily, and ICU occupancy will subsequently increase. In South Africa, where the Omicron variant was first identified, there has been a rapid increase in daily cases, as well as hospital and ICU admissions," the letter states.
As a way of curbing the spread, the health units are taking aim at private indoor social gatherings. It is now strongly recommended that;
- Everyone limit indoor social gatherings in private dwellings to no more than 10 people with all attendees 12 and older fully vaccinated. - All unvaccinated individuals 12 and older should avoid any non-essential indoor contact with individuals who are not part of their household. - People should work remotely, where possible.
All three recommendations will remain in effect for the next four weeks, the medical officers of health stated. They will be reassessed after that time has passed.
“We know people are tired, but we hope they’ll understand why we’re asking them to take extra steps to prevent further spread, especially as we approach the holidays,” said Summers, Middlesex London's acting medical officer of health. “We know that this means adjusting plans, which is a big ask, but the number of new cases and the arrival of the Omicron variant have shown we can’t let our guard down.”
The letter pointed out that those who are fully vaccinated can still get the virus, but it will be for a shorter time and be much less severe. Full vaccination has been associated with a 79.1 per cent reduction in COVID-19 infections, a 92.9 per cent reduction in hospitalizations, and a 96.6 per cent reduction in ICU admissions, according to the Ontario Science Table’s Fourth Wave dashboard.
"Unvaccinated individuals are at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19, and at a higher risk of experiencing severe health outcomes when they do become infected," the letter continued. "High rates of vaccination are not universal within local workplaces and employees are at risk whenever they work in close contact with others."
Over the past week, there have been more than 200 COVID-19 outbreaks reported across southwestern Ontario in a variety of different sectors.
“The more contacts you have, the higher the risk of COVID-19 spreading to you or your loved ones, including the vulnerable. Following these three recommendations will help keep community members as safe as possible during the holiday season and into January," said Klassen, Huron Perth's medical officer of health.
At this point, the medical officers of health have added no additional restrictions or recommendations to businesses, restaurants or other establishments on top of what is already in place by the Ontario government.
