Please remain on high alert!

Cases of COVID 19 are now at the same level as they were at the beginning of the outbreak in March and April.

Fifty eight percent of new cases in Canada are from an unknown source. This means that when public health officials try to identify where a newly diagnosed person has been, no obvious source of infection can be identified which also means, public health officials cannot trace any contacts that a person with COVID 19 had during the days that transmission of the virus occurred.

Unfortunately, there is likely more community spread than first predicted. None of us can take for granted that the public space we are in is free of COVID 19. Assume that it is everywhere and take reasonable, proven action.

Without the ability to know where a person picked up the virus and who they may have been in contact with since becoming infected, contact tracing is not possible. Without the ability to find contacts and quarantine them, we must assume that there are people out there who do not know they are infected. If they are not keeping their distance and wearing a mask, they will spread the virus.

One way to assist public health in the vital role of finding all the contacts an infected person has come close to is to download the Federal COVID Alert App. With the free COVIDcovid Alert app, you can:

1/ get a notification if you may have been exposed to COVID 19

2/get advice on what to do next

3/tell nearby app users if you test positive for COVID-19 thus alerting them to the possibility that they have been exposed

The COVID Alert app creates a random code, so that no one will know your name, or your location once you download it.

The app uses Bluetooth to exchange random codes with nearby phones. The code is a randomly generated string of digits and letters that changes every 5 minutes, so it cannot be used to identify you.

If someone you've encountered later tests positive for COVID-19 and uploads to the app a one-time key they received from public health, you'll be notified that you may have been exposed.

If you test positive for COVID-19, you can upload your one-time key that you will receive from public health. The app will then notify the people you've encountered, without revealing your identity.

I have downloaded this app. This is one of these most important tools we can add to our COVID 19 war chest.

Find out more at Canada.ca/coronavirus

There were no new cases of COVID 19 in Guelph or Wellington county today. That is good news but the percent positivity of COVID tests done in the region has climbed from a low 0.2% to a still very low 0.56%. The reproductive number in our region has recently climbed above 1.0. Both of these numbers indicate an increase in COVID 19 activity. We are still well below the national numbers but the virus is moving in our area. Be on alert. Do not fear as a matter of fact, be fearless and confident that when you are practising public health guidelines you will be safe.

I recommend against all indoor gathering unless it is with the people in your bubble and I also recommend that we decrease the size of our social bubbles if possible. These are also the recommendations of the Toronto Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Eileen de Villa. It just makes good sense to really batten down the hatches for the next three weeks. Stay close to home if you are at risk or elderly. Wear a mask when you are in any public space. Keep a 2 m distance from anyone who is not in your bubble and wash your hands frequently.

Back to the beginning folks but not for long and without a lockdown this time. This second wave will teach us how to live with this virus and keep it at a slow burn until a vaccine comes.

We've got this.

Anne-Marie

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160Christine McEwan, Millie Timbers and 158 others

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