COVID-19 wave may be peaking

22 per cent of eligible local residents 60 years of age and older have now received a fourth dose of vaccine

“There are some promising signs that there will be change — possibly, hopefully — to a ‘moderate risk’ next week.

DONNA CHURIPUY PETERBOROUGH PUBLIC HEALTH PANDEMIC INCIDENT COMMANDER

The sixth wave of COVID-19 seems to have subsided locally.

“It’s encouraging that there may not be as many active cases out in the community — and I think there’s a good signal that we are beyond the peak of this wave,” Peterborough Public Health pandemic incident commander Donna Churipuy told the board of health heard at a meeting Wednesday night.

While the community risk index level was kept on high Wednesday by the health unit — the second highest level on the five-level scale — Churipuy said that could potentially decline when the index is next updated May 18.

“There are some promising signs that there will be change — possibly, hopefully — to a ‘moderate risk’ next week,” she said.

Churipuy said the wastewater surveillance data is the most “encouraging” sign pointing to a slowing down of the ongoing sixth wave of COVID-19 locally.

That’s true in the city, Churipuy said, where evidence of virus in the wastewater has declined recently.

Though there were “mixed results” in Peterborough County, there have “also have some encouraging signals” there, Churipuy said.

Evidence of the virus in wastewater in Havelock, Lakefield and Norwood has declined recently, she said, though in Millbrook those results have been “more mixed.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, Churipuy said there were 17 people hospitalized at Peterborough Regional Health Centre for COVID-19, which is a decrease of one patient compared to Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the health unit is continuing to provide fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccine to people 60 and older and to First Nation, Inuit and Métis people.

As of earlier this week, Churipuy said:

■ 22 per cent of area eligible

residents over the age of 60 had received their fourth dose;

■ 18 per cent of those eligible at Curve Lake First Nation had received a fourth dose;

■ 21 per cent of those eligible at Hiawatha First Nation had received a fourth dose.

Those rates are consistent with other communities in Ontario, she said.

The mass vaccination clinic at the Healthy Planet Arena in Peterborough — which is expected to continue operating until June 1 — will likely be busy for fourth doses all through this month, she said.

She said many people 60 and older will become eligible for a fourth dose in May, since it’s administered five months following the third dose — and many people in the 60-plus age group received their third doses in December.

“We are seeing fairly good subscription, into the clinics right now,” she said.

The local clinic schedule is posted at bit.ly/3L5QgPk.