TORONTO — The top doctor in an Ontario region hit with deadly outbreaks driven by a COVID-19 variant says residents should still limit their movement after the province's stay-at-home order lifts for the area next week.
The government is gradually rolling back its order as regions move to a colour-coded restrictions system in the coming days as part of a plan to reopen Ontario's economy.
Dr. Charles Gardner, medical officer of health for Simcoe-Muskoka, said he would have preferred to see the order extended.
"I'd rather that we'd waited until it was less precarious," he said Tuesday.
"I’m concerned that we’re losing a very effective control measure."
The health unit has been hit by several outbreaks -- one of them particularly deadly -- driven by a variant of COVID-19 that first emerged in the U.K., known as B.1.1.7.
There had been 69 deaths in the outbreak at the Roberta Place long-term care home in Barrie, Ont., as of Tuesday, with more than 350 infections linked to the outbreak.
Gardner also flagged another "worrying" outbreak at the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care with a confirmed variant case. Twenty-eight people have been infected and five have died since Jan. 22. Other outbreaks in the region with confirmed or likely variant cases are still being investigated.
It's unclear what level of the province's colour-coded restrictions system Simcoe-Muskoka will fall under when the stay-at-home order ends.
Gardner said he would prefer the region be placed in the second-strictest red level, but he's advising people to continue staying home when possible no matter what happens.
"Regardless of where we end up, it is very wise of us all if we continue to abide by a stay-at-home approach," he said.
Public Health Ontario is currently screening positive COVID-19 tests for three known "variants of concern," which are believed to be more infectious and could potentially cause more severe illness.
The agency has confirmed 227 cases of the variant that emerged in the U.K. and three cases of a variant that was first detected in South Africa.
Local health officials have said they believe actual case numbers are higher, due to the length of time it takes to run tests confirming the exact strains.
Gardner's comments on Tuesday echoed concerns raised a day earlier by Toronto's top doctor, who warned that the new variants could cause a spike in infections if restrictions are lifted.
Toronto is set to transition to the province's tiered restrictions system on Feb. 22, though the government has said that could change if cases spike.
The city's medical officer of health, Dr. Eileen De Villa, said Monday that with early screening indicating all three "variants of concern" are in Toronto, the city is entering a "new pandemic."
She said it's not the time to prepare to lift restrictions, based on trends seen elsewhere in the world where the variants have taken hold.
In Ontario's north, another medical officer of health called for vigilance amid an outbreak at an apartment building with likely variant cases.
There are 24 active cases in the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit, with at least 19 at the apartment building in North Bay where it was unclear as of Tuesday how the virus had spread.
The region's top doctor ordered the closure of a school with a case linked to the apartment outbreak on Tuesday. He said a longer shutdown might be necessary in light of the variant spreading through the community.
Dr. Jim Chirico urged people to focus on the stay-at-home order as the area faces a "serious threat."
"Until last Friday, our district had relatively few cases. Because of that, we have an opportunity to contain the variant," Chirico said at a Tuesday news conference.
"Now more than ever is the time we need to step up and put the health and safety of our community above ourselves."
New infections have decreased in Ontario since the stay-at-home order was imposed in January but public health officials have said the variants are cause for concern.
Ontario reported 1,022 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday and 17 more deaths linked to the virus.
Just over 900 people were hospitalized with the virus, with 318 in intensive care and 223 on ventilators.
In Simcoe-Muskoka, Gardner noted on Tuesday the heavy impact the variant outbreaks have had on the community. The Roberta Place outbreak has resulted in nearly double the number of deaths than those seen in the region during the pandemic's first wave, he said.
"It's been a tragic loss of life," he said.
Gardner said while the health unit is working to prevent the variant from spreading widely in the community, "it's probable that we won't."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 9, 2021.
Holly McKenzie-Sutter, The Canadian Press
