Status of Cases in KFL&A

How do I navigate the dashboard?

Click on the button on the top left of dashboard to switch between the pages of information. The graphs are interactive. Hover mouse over the bars, and lines to show the details. On the Cases page, switch between date positive case received on date onset (or swabbed) by clicking on the date type buttons. Select a date range to filter the graphs.

Reported data is compiled daily for confirmed COVID-19 positive cases in the KFL&A Region from the provincial Case and Contact Management Tool (CCM). Number of tests complete and the assessment centre data are based on internal data collection at KFL&A Public Health and Lennox & Addington County General Hospital. Data may be updated at different times based on availability. Check the top right corner of the page to see the date when the data was last updated. The case data from CCM reflects the status of cases at the same time of update. Cases are counted by health unit region, as health units are responsible for following up with patients who reside within their region.

Not all patients hospitalized in the region may reside within it. Also, the Assessment and Testing data reflect the data from the previous day.

What is a high risk case?

High risk individuals are those that meet the current eligibility criteria for PCR testing; for example, frontline healthcare providers and residents of long term care.

What does the KFL&A region risk level mean?

The risk level represents the risk due to COVID-19 activity levels in the KFL&A region. There are four levels of risk: green, yellow, orange and red; and they are defined based on the indicators used by the province earlier in the pandemic. The indicators include the cases per 100,000 the past 7 days and the current percent positivity. 

The province is in the modified Step 2 under the Reopening Ontario Act. The local risk level is meant to show our community's  current local risk. The higher the risk, the more restrictions put in place to keep the community safe. As risk levels rise, KFL&A Public Health may introduce new restrictions to keep the community safe. These restrictions will reflect the continued growth in our community vaccination levels.

What is the vaccination status of new COVID-19 cases?

KFL&A Public Health does not release the vaccination status of high risk cases as this is not representative of the risk to the community. KFL&A Public Health does not release vaccination status of hospitalized cases as the numbers are too low to be stable. Provincial level data is available. Additionally Public Health Ontario provides weekly detailed analysis of COVID-19 following vaccination. 

Why is there a difference between the number of KFL&A residents vaccinated and the number of doses administered in KFL&A?

What is vaccination coverage and how is it calculated?

Vaccination coverage is the per cent of the population that has received a COVID-19 vaccine. It is calculated by dividing the number of individuals in the group who have received dose 1 (or dose 1 and 2, or dose 1, 2 and 3) by the total number of individuals in that group. The total number of individuals in a group may change with time or be an approximated, so coverage rates are estimates. For the number of KFL&A residents by age, the total number of individuals in each group is from the 2020 Population Estimates from Statistics Canada. For the vaccination records, age is defined as the individual’s age at time of data analysis. In order to describe the individuals currently vaccinated in KFL&A, coverage estimates exclude individuals reported as deceased. Age-based coverage rates are calculated for those 5 and over because the COVID vaccines are currently only approved for those 5 and over.

Why does the number of vaccines administered in a day change after it is first posted?

Data is extracted from the COVID-19 vaccination provincial database. This data can change based on delays in reporting and data cleaning efforts. 

What is the criterion for a case to be considered resolved?

• For a case that has mild to moderate symptoms: 5 days after symptom onset and provided that the individual does not have a fever (without the use of fever-reducing medication) and symptoms have been improving for at least 24 hours. If person did not have symptoms, then 5 days from the date of the positive test
• For a case that has severe symptoms (such as requiring ICU care): 20 days after symptom onset (or 20 days from positive test date if asymptomatic with severe immune compromise), provided that the individual does not have a fever (without the use of fever-reducing medication) and symptoms have been improving for at least 24 hours.

It is important to note that clearance testing is not recommended to determine if someone is no longer infectious – individuals can remain positive on tests for several weeks and this does not indicate they are infectious.

After an individual completes their isolation period, they should continue to practice physical distancing measures and use

When is an outbreak declared?

Different settings have different rules for when outbreaks are declared based on the risk factors of the populations in the setting. All cases, regardless of whether or not they meet the outbreak definition, will also appear under the main case count on the dashboard.

Long-Term Care Facility, Retirement Home, and other congregate living settings with vulnerable populations (e.g., group home, shelter) outbreak:

• At least two or more lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in residents or staff (or other visitors) in a home with an epidemiological link, within a 14-day period, where at least one case could have reasonably acquired their infection in the home.

Acute care facility (e.g., hospital) outbreak: 

• At least 2 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in staff or patients within a specified area (e.g., unit, floor or service) within a 14 day period. 
• At least 2 of those cases have a clear link of being acquired within the hospital (e.g., admitted for 5 or more days before symptom onset or no obvious source of infection outside the hospital).

What does community-spread mean?

Community-spread happens when individuals in the community are confirmed positive for COVID-19 but have no known contact with another confirmed case or have not travelled to an area with documented cases.

In order to slow or stop community-spread infections, everyone in our community must continue to practice infection prevention measures including hand washing, mandatory self-isolation for 14 days after returning from travel outside of Canada, and physical distancing.