HURON-PERTH – It’s not the news anyone wants to hear especially around the upcoming holiday season, but the reality is the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be very much prevalent in Huron-Perth.
Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH) reports 115 active cases of COVID-19, an increase of 39 active cases from only one week prior. North Perth continues to be the hardest hit jurisdiction in the region, with 29 active cases as of Dec. 13; the municipality still has two elementary schools – North Perth Westfield and Elma Township Public – dealing with ongoing outbreaks. Westfield currently has 26 students affected while Elma has 11, in addition to one staff member.
Two smaller outbreaks are localized to the Westfield Before and After School Program, as well as the Perth Care for Kids program in Perth East, with two cases each. Additionally, Milverton Public School was declared in outbreak on Dec. 9 – its second outbreak of the school year – with two cases.
“We continue to see a steady number of new cases,” commented HPPH Medical Officer of Health Dr. Miriam Klassen during her bi-weekly media teleconference on Dec. 8. “The more community transmission of the virus, the higher the likelihood of outbreaks in schools, workplaces and other settings.”
“Many cases are associated with social gatherings and events.”
Perth East reports 18 active cases, while Howick Township has 15. Stratford reports 10 cases, West Perth has seven, North Huron and Morris-Turnberry have seven combined, and South Huron has six active cases of the coronavirus.
Klassen stated that transmission continues to be driven primarily amongst unvaccinated portions of the population – younger children included – by the Delta variant, with the emergence of the Omicron variant in pockets of Ontario likely to continue to drive numbers even higher.
She added that the traditional countermeasures to combat the spread of the coronavirus still apply now more than ever, such as distancing, masking and frequent hand hygiene.
Klassen reiterated that these pandemic countermeasures will become all the more crucial as the holiday season approaches and the likelihood for more social gatherings increases.
“The more contacts we have, the higher the risk of transmission,” she said. “Nothing has changed; all the same measures that have worked for COVID all along are still the ones that work.”
