Peterborough Public Health Re-activates Emergency Response for COVID-19
Written by kerri, January 21, 2021
Essential Public Health Programs Continue; Other Services Reduced or Suspended
Peterborough Public Health announced today that it has re-activated its emergency response team to address the current phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“With the imminent arrival of COVID-19 vaccines in our community, we have moved from recovery mode back into emergency response to focus our efforts on the two major elements of the pandemic response: vaccine roll out and COVID-19 containment,” explained Dr. Rosana Salvaterra, Medical Officer of Health. “This means that essential public health services will remain intact, while others will be reduced or suspended so we can reassign staff to both fronts of the emergency response.”
A full list of affected services can be found on www.peterboroughpublichealth.ca or by clicking here. Some of the activities that are temporarily reduced or suspended include:
| Reduced | Suspended |
| – Community Dental Clinic (emergency services only)
– Sexual Health Clinic services (limited to contraception (age 25 years and under), emergency contraception, pregnancy testing, STI testing and treatment for people with symptoms, routine testing will not be available) – Routine immunization clinics – Healthy Babies Healthy Children and Infant & Toddler Development program (most services are being provided via telephone or videoconference) |
– In-person prenatal classes (online prenatal modules continue to be available)
– Activities in all schools including school-based immunization clinics, vision and dental screening – Food handler training classes and certification exams
|
These services have been impacted due to the redeployment of staff to assist with the emergency response. For those who have registered for a scheduled class, workshop or appointment, they will be contacted directly if it is cancelled.
In addition to maintaining essential public health services, Peterborough Public Health has restructured to focus its efforts on the COVID-19 pandemic response, including:
- Case management of COVID-19 cases and high-risk contacts and contact tracing
- Outbreak management and infection control and prevention activities
- Planning for COVID-19 vaccine rollout and coordinating mass vaccination clinics
- Providing bi-weekly media briefings and ongoing public education efforts
- Enforcement of COVID-19 public health measures and responding to complaints
- Liaising with community partners to provide sector-specific support (e.g. long-term care homes, retailers, places of worship, schools, etc.)
- Handling inquiries through the COVID-19 hotline and covid19@peterboroughpublichealth.ca
- Epidemiology activities to support data needs for evidence-informed decisions
- Training on new provincial software programs for vaccine roll out
For more information, please visit www.peterboroughpublichealth.ca.
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For further information, please contact:
Brittany Cadence
Communications Manager
705-743-1000, ext. 391