Action MOH: Focus on hospitalizations over case numbers, vaccination still important

Because eligibility for PCR testing for COVID has changed, new and active case numbers are not as important as what they once were.

With a few exceptions, testing is now mostly only available for symptomatic high-risk individuals, and individuals who work in high-risk settings.

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ethan Toumishey says, with the rise of the Omicron variant, cases are likely much higher than the numbers they’re reporting every day.

He says as of December 30, before the change in testing protocol, over 90% of new cases were screening positive for Omicron.

“The variant is so transmissible that this has very rapidly replaced Delta as being the dominant strain. And, just about all cases that would be detected currently would be Omicron.”

Dr. Toumishey says the focus now should be on hospitalizations rather than case numbers.

As of Tuesday, 18 of Hastings-Prince Edward’s 1,323 cases were in hospital with five of them in the ICU.

Dr. Toumishey says it’s important now to track how many people are becoming severely ill and the potential impact on the health care system.

“The proportion of people who get a COVID-19 infection who then become hospitalized. That number will be more concrete than when all individuals would have access for testing and they’re becoming symptomatic.”

Dr. Toumishey says measures being enacted by the province are meant to slow not stop the spread of the Omicron variant to ease the impact on hospitals.

50,000 COVID cases per day would mean 500 hospital admissions per day, which is greater than the peak daily hospitalizations of 265 per day from last spring.

He also says it’s never too late to get vaccinated adding most of those who are vaccinated experience much milder symptoms and are much less likely to require hospitalization.

“As we’ve seen through the pandemic, the virus continues to circulate in the world at such high numbers, these variants will continue to develop. Omicron may not be the last variant that we are seeing in wave. COVID-19 is not going away any time soon.”

As of Tuesday, the Hastings Prince Edward Public Health dashboard showed 86% of residents aged five and up have a first shot of a COVID vaccine and 79% have received two doses.

During the last month, more than 12,000 people have received booster doses.