COVID-19 Information

Haliburton County Community Vaccination Information

The Haliburton Highlands Family Health Team, Haliburton Family Medical Centre, Haliburton County Paramedic Service, the County of Haliburton, and Haliburton Highlands Health Services are working collaboratively with the local public health agency to finalize plans for a community vaccination hub in Haliburton County.

While no firm timeline or clinic information is available at this time, the partners recognize that community members are seeking local information about what they can expect in terms of immunization plans and locations.
While the supply of vaccines into Haliburton County is guided by the availability and determination of priority groups by the province, the local health teams are working diligently with the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit (HKPRDHU) to plan for the arrival of vaccines for the community.

“We know that many of our residents are anxiously awaiting details on the availability of the vaccine locally, and we appreciate everyone’s patience as we wait for the vaccine supply to arrive,” said Dr. Ian Gemmill, Acting Medical Officer of Health for the HKPRDHU. “The province has determined the timelines and priority populations that will receive vaccine and the local public health agency is working closely with all of our health care partners to finalize how we will get the vaccine in arms once it arrives.”

Currently, the community partners are following prioritization guidelines from the Ministry of Health, which means that after local healthcare workers are immunized, the next priority group for vaccination will be residents over the age of 80. More information about prioritization across Ontario is available at https://covid-19.ontario.ca/covid-19-vaccines-ontario

Information regarding when, where, and how to book appointments for vaccination will follow in the coming weeks. This information will be shared with residents through the newspapers, local radio stations, social media, and health care partner websites. At the moment, there is no wait list process to receive the vaccine and partners are grateful for the patience of community members who are anxious to receive immunization.

Until vaccines are more widely available, partners urge the community to continue to follow all public health measures to help stop the spread of COVID-19, including staying home as much as possible, practicing physical distancing, wearing a mask or face covering in public spaces, and getting tested for COVID-19 if they are experiencing any of the symptoms.

Today, the Provincial Government Released a COVID-19 Response Framework to Help 'Keep Ontario Safe and Open'.

The framework takes a gradual approach that includes introducing preventative measures earlier to help avoid broader closures and allow for additional public health and workplace safety measures to be introduced or removed incrementally.

It categorizes public health unit regions into five levels: Green-Prevent, Yellow-Protect, Orange-Restrict, Red-Control, and Lockdown being a measure of last and urgent resort. Each level outlines the types of public health and workplace safety measures for businesses and organizations. These include targeted measures for specific sectors, institutions and other settings. As of November 7, 2020 The County of Haliburton will be classified as "Green-Prevent" within the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit.

For more on what this means: https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/59051/ontario-releases-covid-19-response-framework-to-help-keep-the-province-safe-and-open

County of Haliburton remains under a State of Emergency

This is a reminder to residents that the County of Haliburton remains under a State of Emergency.

We want to ensure that everyone, including our visitors, remains safe and we all take part in reducing the pandemic's impact overall.

Please do your part in stopping the spread of COVID-19 by regular hand washing, wearing a mask if you're able, respecting established social circles and maintaining physical distancing as required.

The County, working closely with our Emergency Operations Control team, will continue to monitor the state of the pandemic and update the status of the Emergency Declaration accordingly.

Meanwhile, keep safe and healthy, and we'll all get through this together.

The Ontario government, in partnership with the federal government, is delivering on its commitment to provide up to $4 billion in urgently needed one-time assistance to Ontario's 444 municipalities. Municipalities will be provided with up to $1.6 billion as part of the first round of emergency funding under the Safe Restart Agreement. The County of Haliburton will receive $1,435,300 million from the first round.

 This funding will help municipalities protect the health and well-being of the people of Ontario, while continuing to deliver critical public services as the province continues down the path of renewal, growth and economic recovery.

Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott (front) visited the County of Haliburton today to announce the funding and is pictured here with County Warden Liz Danielsen (top, centre) and County Councillors Brent Devolin and Andrea Roberts. 

Learn more. 

TORONTO ― As Ontario safely and gradually begins to reopen, the provincial government is investing $150 million in reliable broadband and cellular service. This funding will help create even more economic and educational opportunities in rural, remote and underserved areas of the province. This is part of the province's $315 million initiative called Up to Speed: Ontario's Broadband and Cellular Action Plan.

Learn more.