Three top doctors, one COVID message: Keep holiday gatherings small
Think small, not big, when it comes to holiday gatherings.
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Think small, not big, when it comes to holiday gatherings.
And stick with working from home for the time being, three of Southwestern Ontario’s top doctors say.
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Three top doctors, one COVID message: Keep holiday gatherings small Back to video
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Medical officers of health from the Middlesex-London Health Unit, Huron-Perth Public Health and Southwestern Public Health, which covers Elgin and Oxford counties, are urging people to keep their holiday gatherings to 10 or fewer and work remotely if possible as COVID-19 fourth-wave case counts intensify.
“It’s in homes, these comfortable and familiar settings, where transmission is happening and that’s what these recommendations speak to,” said Alex Summers, acting medical officer of health for Middlesex-London.
“If we, as a community, are able to reduce our number of contacts by 15 to 30 per cent in the next number of weeks, we can reduce the probability of putting our hospital system under stress.”
The formal recommendations are necessary to address rising case counts and the threat of the hyper-contagious Omicron variant that now has been linked to a cluster of 50 COVID-19 cases in London, Summers said.
The 10-person capacity recommendation urged by the regional public health officials is more strict than provincial legislation that caps indoor social gatherings in private residences at 25 people. The three health units are urging people to ensure every attendee 12 years and older is vaccinated against COVID-19.
Unvaccinated people should avoid non-essential indoor contact with people who are not in their household, the medical offers said in a joint statement Thursday.
After 200 outbreaks in the region declared in the last week alone, the health units are urging people to work from home when possible.
Unlike other public health measures, such as a letter of instruction or Section 22 order under the Health Promotion and Protection Act, the three recommendations are not enforceable by law.
The medical officers are counting on the public to follow their advice during the holidays, just as they have during other waves of the pandemic.
“We have seen that most of our citizens are highly committed to doing their part in helping to keep us all safe. . . . We expect that our citizens will continue to step up as they have time and time again” Southwestern Public Health medical officer Joyce Lock said Thursday.
“We’re asking that everybody thinks about what they can bring to the table and what they can do to decrease the risk (of transmission), not only for themselves on a personal level, but on a population level,” said Miriam Klassen, Huron-Perth Public Health medical officer.
The recommendations are tailored to the settings where public health officials have seen the most transmission occurring, Summers said. Though shopping malls and events can attract large crowds, they’re not the big driver of COVID-19 cases in the area right now, he said.
Tighter public health restrictions may be necessary if the recommendations aren’t adhered to or if COVID-19 case counts and hospital admissions in London-area rise further, Summers said.
“We will continue to watch to determine whether or not this is making the impact that we want it to have and will adjust accordingly,” Summers said. “We will of course, take stronger measures, if necessary in Middlesex-London.”
The health units’ recommendations are effective immediately and will be reassessed in four weeks, the joint statement said. They apply to everyone in London, and Middlesex, Huron, Perth, Elgin and Oxford counties.
The Middlesex-London Health Unit reported 40 new COVID-19 cases Thursday and no additional deaths.
The cluster of COVID-19 cases involving the Omicron variant has risen to 50 cases in 18 households, Summers said. Four have been confirmed as the Omicron variant through whole genome sequencing, while the others are considered probable variant cases.
Of the 50 cases, 50 per cent are fully vaccinated and none are in hospital, he said.
Seven schools, two child-care centres and one church have been affected by the Omicron cluster that is linked to two travellers who returned to London from Nigeria late last month.
The London-area health unit also is investigating potential Omicron cases that are not linked to the large cluster, including at least one person who screened for the mutation but did not travel and wasn’t connected to a traveller, Summers said.
Early data suggests the extremely transmissible Omicron variant could overtake Delta as the dominant COVID-19 strain globally and in Ontario, Summers said.