The past year has been a COVID-19 rollercoaster ride.
The first week of 2021 was not promising in Sudbury, as the Ontario active case total was hovering around 2,500 to 3,500 daily and Sudbury active case counts were 285 to 300.
On Jan. 11, a province wide state of emergency was declared followed by a provincial stay-at-home order.
The new provincial order said "outdoor organized public gatherings and social gatherings are further restricted to a limit of five people with limited exceptions. This is consistent with the rules during the lockdown during the first wave of COVID-19 in spring 2020 and will allow individuals and families to enjoy time outdoors safely."
This also included an order for wearing masks in indoor settings.
"Individuals are required to wear a mask or face covering in the indoor areas of businesses or organizations that are open. Wearing a mask or face covering is now recommended outdoors when you can't physically distance more than two metres," said the order.
The first seemingly hopeful sign came in the second week when PHSD reported it had delivered the first doses of Moderna vaccine to elderly residents in a nursing home, in this case the Wikwemikong Nursing Home on Manitoulin Island.
Things changed just a few days later, when the health unit reported there was a serious COVID-19 outbreak at the Amberwood Suites retirement home on Regent Street. In the span of three days, PHSD reported three COVID-related deaths at Amberwood Suites. These were the first new deaths to occur in 2021. They were also the first since the pandemic had been declared back in March and April of 2020.
As a side note, in January PHSD offered condolences to families, friends and caregivers of those who had died. In the most recent report of COVID-19 deaths in Sudbury, in mid-December, PHSD did not acknowledge the deaths other than mentioning "three COVID-related deaths." No information was provided on where the persons had died or whether their deaths were related to any outbreak.
Only two local residents died of COVID-19 related causes in 2020. In 2021, there were 45 COVID-19 deaths in Sudbury, making it 47 deaths since the pandemic began.
By the end of January PHSD began vaccinating elderly patients in local nursing and retirement homes, along with providing vaccines to professional health care workers.
It was at the same time that public health professionals became aware of a new variants of the coronavirus, such as the UK Variant and others. It prompted PHSD to step up their public campaign urging local residents to get their COVID-19 vaccines.
Late spring and early summer saw an all-out vaccine effort that even included residents making appointments and getting vaccinations are their favourite local pharmacies.
Sudbury also had close to a 1,000 residents taking part in a one-day drive-through vaccination event held at the Real Canadian Superstore at 1485 Lasalle Boulevard, a collaborative effort between the Primacy Medical Centre and Public Health Sudbury and Districts (PHSD).
And while that effort was underway, other residents of the city were not so compliant. While the overwhelming majority of local residents were willing to accept the idea of a vaccine, a vocal minority of citizens made it known they were not willing to accept it. What made the idea unacceptable to a lot of people was that several occupations were requiring that their employees would need to be vaccinated in order to continue working.
The Ontario government also revealed that in many cases, vaccinations and proof of vaccinations would be required to obtain a host of regular services such as sitting down in a pub or restaurant to enjoy coffee and a slice of pie.
One of the Sudbury anti-vaccine rallies attracted well-known Ontario independent MPP Randy Hillier who spoke against masks, against lockdowns and against vaccine mandates.
Other rallies held later in the year saw many protesters voicing their displeasure with vaccine mandates by demonstrating outside of the Health Sciences North hospital complex on Paris Street and along sections of Ramsey Lake Road. Anti-vaccine protests were also held in Sudbury during the federal election campaign when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited at the end of August. This happened outside the Sudbury airport and also during a speech and news conference Trudeau held at Laurentian University.
Daily COVID-19 case counts were relatively low in Sudbury, during most of the late spring and into summer. There were many days in June, July and August where the daily count was zero or single digits. At the same time, the numbers of city residents getting vaccines began to climb. By the first week of May, more than 80,000 area residents had their first dose. Long line-ups and two-hour waits at vaccine venues became a common sight.
In the final COVID-19 vaccine summary on December 31, PHSD revealed that 86.6 per cent of local residents over the age of 12 had been fully vaccinated (two doses). The percentage of all local residents, of any age, that have been vaccinated was 10 points lower at 76.6 per cent. Also, in recent weeks several thousand more local residents have received a third dose of vaccine, also considered a booster shot.
Things changed in September and as fall approached, the daily case numbers began to rise from single digits to double digits in the twenties, thirties and forties. At the same time, the vaccination rush began to level off as fewer and fewer citizens stepped up.
Late fall brought concern over the growing number of viral variants. This included the variants from the U.K, from Brazil and from South Africa. The one that stood out early was the Delta variant, which has been suppressed for the most part, according to PHSD and Public Health Ontario.
In the past few weeks, the latest variant of concern has been the Omicron, which is believed to be milder, but it also believed to be far more transmissible than any previous variant.
Public Health Ontario has been joined by public health units across Ontario promoting a third-dose of vaccination as an effective means of combating Omicron for the time being.
"With holiday celebrations happening and Omicron circulating in Ontario, it is important that everyone who is eligible for a booster dose gets one as soon as possible. We are especially encouraging those with underlying health conditions, health care workers and their families, individuals who live or work in congregate settings (for example, group homes, shelters), and those 50+ to get a booster dose without delay," said a news release from PHSD just a few days ago.
As the year came to an end in the PHSD jurisdiction, public health was reporting what it called unprecedented high numbers of local COVID case counts. The last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of the year saw case counts rising to record levels -- 169 cases, 201 cases and 235 cases on the last day of year.
Len Gillis is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter at Sudbury.com. He covers health care in Northern Ontario.
