Delayed Step 2 'strategic decision' to allow for better summer in Waterloo Region: Dr. Wang

KITCHENER -

Delaying the move into Step 2 in Waterloo Region is a "strategic decision" to allow for a safer reopening down the road, according to the region's top doctor.

Medical Officer of Health Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang acknowledged it was a difficult decision to delay reopening, but said it will help "give us all the summer we deserve."

"We are seeing the Delta variant spreading in all settings, in workplaces, in our community, through social gatherings and in congregated living settings," Dr. Wang said at the region's weekly COVID-19 briefing on Friday morning. "(The delay) is giving us a couple of weeks for the vaccines to work to allow us to reopen at stay open. We do not want to take a step back at this point."

The rest of Ontario will enter Step 2 on June 30, provincial officials announced Thursday. That step allows larger outdoor gatherings, small indoor gatherings, personal care services and expanded patio dining and retail capacity.

Dr. Wang said the delay is possible through a provision in the Reopening Ontario Act, where local medical officers of health can order businesses to continue following rules laid out under Step 1 until instructions are lifted.

"With our current Delta situation, our hospitals are filling up with COVID patients and we're starting to send them out of region," Dr. Wang said.

Dr. Wang encouraged residents to continue supporting local businesses as much as possible during the delay.

MAJORITY OF CASES IN UNVACCINATED PEOPLE

"Vaccination remains our best defence against COVID-19 and the Delta variant," Dr. Wang said. "The vaccines are highly effective at reducing the risk of severe outcomes."

Since May 1, more than 76 per cent of confirmed COVID-19 cases are among individuals who aren't vaccinated, while 22 per cent were reported in people who had only received one vaccine dose or weren't fully protected by the vaccine yet and 1.6 per cent were reported in people considered fully vaccinated.

As for hospitalizations in that same timeframe, 77.8 per cent of people in hospital were unvaccinated, 20.6 were partially vaccinated and 1.6 per cent were fully vaccinated.

Dr. Wang added 87.5 per cent of deaths since May 1 were reported in people who were unvaccinated or not considered fully protected from the vaccine.

She added the variant is spreading very quickly among younger people, including the 30 to 39, 20 and 29, and under 18 age groups.

"We know that the first dose improves protection against infection," Dr. Wang said. "The strongest protection is for those who are fully immunized."

VACCINATIONS RAMPING UP WITH PROVINCIAL HELP

The region set a new record for vaccine doses administered in a single day on Thursday with more than 10,000.

Officials said they've received more vaccine from the province and are working to ramp up both first and second doses. There are pop-up clinics planned in the coming days and weeks, and regional clinics are expanding hours. The region also opened up walk-in appointments for first doses at three clinics, and hope to add more availability soon.

On Saturday, youths aged 12 to 17 will qualify for an accelerated second dose. Starting Monday, anyone who has received a first vaccine dose will be able to book a second dose as long as 21 days have passed since their first dose of Pfizer, or 28 days since a Moderna vaccine.

The region launched a new self-serve booking system on Wednesday.

Vickie Murray, the lead of operations with the region's vaccine distribution task force, said there are plans to offer more mobile vaccine services soon to help target the population has hasn't received a first dose yet.

"For many people, they are not vaccine hesitant and will gladly get the vaccine if we take it to them," she said.

Murray said allocation from the province has allowed them to significantly increase the number of vaccines administered each week.

"One month ago we were planning to give approximately 30,000 doses a week," Murray said. "Now, we are planning to get over 60,000 doses a week."

The region's largest vaccine clinic on Pinebush Road in Cambridge has been able to expand from 1,000 appointments a day a month ago to more than 3,300 appointments in a day.

Provincial teams have come to help with pop-up vaccine clinics and more staff and doses are expected soon.

"We will continue to add vaccine clinic appointments as quickly as possible to provide as many opportunities as we can for our residents to get vaccinated," Murray said.

HOSPITALIZATIONS SPIKING

Lee Fairclough, the president of St. Mary's Hospital, said the decision to remain in Step 1 was "the right one."

As of Thursday, Fairclough said Waterloo Region hospitals accounted for 23 per cent of the COVID-19 patients in Ontario, even though the area only makes up four per cent of the province's population.

"This trend of seeing the spike increases and increased numbers quickly needing hospital care is very concerning," she said.

Fairclough added more patients needing COVID-19 care has an affect on other services. They'd been working to increase care for non-COVID-19 patients.

"The spike is impacting our ability to do that," Fairclough said.

The region has transferred patients between local hospitals and has even sent some transfers to London.

"We are back in full pandemic mode," Fairclough said.