Kingston MOH issues ‘call to action’ to prevent added COVID-19 restrictions

Dr. Piotr Oglaza is urging the community to stop socializing and going to work while symptomatic, measures which may help prevent further COVID restrictions in the region.

With community spread confirmed and case rates hitting historic highs in the KFL&A region, the area’s medical officer of health says there’s still time to turn things around before implementing added COVID-19 restrictions.

“Before going with these broad, much more restrictive measures — that could be capacity restrictions and other measures that we’ve seen in the past — let’s take full advantage of what measures are currently in place and should be working, if again followed diligently,” Dr. Piotr Oglaza said in a media briefing Tuesday evening.

As of Tuesday, active case counts rose to 184, the highest ever seen in the region. Hospitalizations were also at a record high this week, with 10 people in hospital.

Before a press conference Tuesday evening, KFL&A Public Health announced that contact tracers have found evidence of community spread in the region, with clusters of cases popping up with no known origins.

Oglaza said this is the first time the Kingston region has ever been above the province’s previous red zone designation.

Still, the medical officer of health is stopping short of adding in public health restrictions, unlike other health units in Ontario who have done so to curb their surge in cases.

But, he says that will take extra effort from the local community, mostly by staying home when sick, even if symptoms are mild.

“Be mindful that there’s no such thing as just a cold. It may not be just a cold,” he said. He said several people have been going to work or interacting with others while symptomatic because they were only experiencing minor issues like runny noses or sore throats.