Children and adults under 30 driving COVID-19 surge in parts of northern Ontario

Children, adults under 30 and people who are not vaccinated are driving a surge of COVID-19 cases in a northern Ontario region, the area’s top doctor said Tuesday. 

The highly transmissible Delta variant is the likely culprit of that increase, said Dr. Lianne Catton of the Porcupine Health Unit, which did not move to the first stage of the province’s reopening plan last week.

There have been 12 cases of the Delta variant confirmed in the area so far, but Catton warned that the real number is likely higher. 

“It likely really explains the dramatic spread that we’ve seen in the third part of this third wave,” Catton said. “So it’s really, really concerning.”

There are 337 active cases of COVID-19 in the region that includes the city of Timmins and several First Nations communities.

Catton said the case rate in the Porcupine Health Unit is 290 per 100,000 — nearly five times higher than the rate the province had set as a benchmark for reopening.

“The infection rates have been higher in younger individuals,” Cattan said. 

The overall vaccination rate in the area for those eligible is about 71 per cent for first doses, she said.

“As we go down in age, we see vaccination rates decreasing.”

Recent data shows the majority of the active cases are located in Kashechewan First Nation, a few other First Nation communities in the James Bay and Hudson Bay regions, and Timmins.

Catton urged residents to restrict their interactions and continue to follow public health measures.

“We need to limit interactions to contain the Delta variant,” she said.

There has been some progress in recent days, but it’s still too early to say when the region will reopen, Catton said.

“We need to see a more sustained pattern that is really solid before making any considerations,” she told a news conference.

Overall, daily cases of COVID-19 have been falling in Ontario over the past few weeks. The province reported 296 new cases of COVID-19 and 13 deaths from the virus on Tuesday. 

The province said 433 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Tuesday morning, including 382 patients in intensive care. 

The government said 184,989 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered over the last 24 hours for a total of more than 11.5 million doses.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2021. 

Liam Casey, The Canadian Press