With stage 3 reopening, York Region public health restores programs, services

The Healthy Babies Healthy Children Program, a home visiting program for parents, is available again

Newmarkettoday.com
August 11, 2020

As the pace of the COVID-19 pandemic slows in York Region, several public health programs and services will be available to residents again.

With stage 3 reopening, demand for essential public health services has increased, according to the Region of York spokesperson Patrick Casey.

Restored services include:

• Healthy Babies Healthy Children Program
• Sexual health clinic services
• Substance use prevention and harm reduction programming
• Beach water sampling and West Nile Virus surveillance

Regular restaurant and food premises compliance inspections have yet to resume, however, they will continue to be conducted in "high-risk establishments" and in food premises that have received community complaints, Casey said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, since last February, public health resources have been focused on case and contact management, outbreak management and assessment centre testing.

As the unit prepares for a potential second wave of COVID-19 in the fall, planning includes monitoring community needs and understanding which communities are being impacted by the virus, according to an Aug. 5 regional council update.

In collaboration with the provincial government, the region is now collecting socio-economic data from residents infected with COVID-19 to help respond to specific community needs through the planning of targeted programs, services and supports. Residents who test positive for COVID-19 will be asked questions about their race, income, languages spoken and household size as part of the case investigation process.