As of Monday, no communities within Prescott-Russell had marked an active case. There was just one active case in the entire Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU), recorded in Cornwall.
While no new cases were confirmed over the weekend, the region recorded an additional death from COVID-19. EOHU Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, said the deceased, as well as two other people who had died over the past week and a half, did not appear to have been vaccinated.
The lack of cases came after the June marked the lowest case count of any month since August 2020 in the EOHU. According to the EOHU website, just 23 cases were recorded in the area last month, compared to 265 in May and a record 956 in April.
“That’s very good news,” Dr. Roumeliotis said over the low case count. “Overall, we are looking at numbers that are very stable and very low. Things are looking good that we’ll enter step three [of the province’s reopening plan] at the end of the three-week period.”
Vaccines increase
Meanwhile, almost 200,000 vaccines had been administered across the EOHU as of Monday. Some 198,897 had been administered across the region, 81,000 of which were provided in June alone. About 138,000 of the vaccines were for first doses, with the remainder going to second doses.
Dr. Roumeliotis said about 80 percent of the local population had received the first dose, with 36 percent having already received the second dose. But he said that dropped to 54 percent of 18 to 29 year olds with first doses, and 52 percent of 12 to 17 year olds.
“We do encourage you [to get vaccinated], because the quicker we get to a very high number of total, across the board, second doses, the better it’ll be as we reopen the economy and not have to look back,” he said. “Any individual in this group, we’ll make it easier for you.”
Anyone who had yet to make a first dose appointment, as well as those aged 12 to 17, were allowed to walk into any EOHU clinic without an appointment. Dr. Roumeliotis said he hoped to have 60 to 65 percent of the population fully vaccinated by August.
“We’ll be in very good stead as we go into the fall, which will have completed a two-dose summer for us,” he said.
