The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit will remain in the Red Zone due to the COVID-19 variant of concern and the situation surrounding North Bay.
Just today, the large increase in COVID-19 case numbers in the Sudbury district has forced the province to pull the emergency brake on the region and put them into lockdown starting Friday.
"What is happening in Sudbury is absolutely very important," stated Dr. Jim Chirico, Chief Medical Officer for the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit.
See: Sudbury going into lockdown
"The same thing has not happened here but it can get out of control very quickly. If we see our numbers going up that may be our only option is to do the same."
Chirico was part of an informative health unit panel that will be offered online every Thursday starting today.
Chirico believes the case count in the region, which currently sees the entire region with only two active cases right now, can be deceiving.
"Based on just the numbers used in the framework we would be in green," admitted Chirico during the Q & A portion of the media conference.
"But I think that is the absolute wrong thing to be doing right now. The factors with the variants of concern and the way it travels and how much easier it is to acquire the infection that all those are very important and they override the low case numbers as far as wading in the decision. That coupled with what is going on around us and throughout the province; those are the main factors why we need to stay where we are. "
Vaccines coming
The Health Unit also released more details relating to the opening of large vaccination centres in the area.
Scott Thibodeau, Vaccine Nurse Lead with the Health Unit, says bookings can begin online provincially and the clinics are expected to be open in the regions for four to eight hour shifts to start the week of March 22.
"The details and the exact times, the dates and hours of the clinic will follow and we will be posting that information on our website so stay tuned," said Thibodeau.
"The online scheduling opens this Monday (March 15) and it will be populated with the clinics that we finalize in the days to come."
Chirico noted that the clinics in the five hub centres including North Bay, Parry Sound, West Nipissing, Mattawa and the Sundridge area are hoping to expand to weekends and perhaps 12 hour daily shifts.
"We don't have capacity," Chirico noted in comparison to 24-hour vaccination clinics that are being set up down south.
"We will be doing this for months and months to get this done."
