The Municipality of Chatham is reporting that so far, 86 per cent of its employees have provided proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The COVID-19 Vaccination Verification and Testing policy required employees and volunteers to declare their vaccination status no later than Monday. Municipal officials said they anticipate that more than 95 per cent of employees will be fully vaccinated by mid-November.
Those not fully vaccinated must now provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test in order to attend the workplace.
"We are encouraged by the number of employees who have vaccinated in an effort to do our part to keep one another and those that we serve healthy and safe," said General Manager of Corporate Services and Chief Human Resources Officer Cathy Hoffman.
On October 4, Council approved a COVID-19 Vaccination Policy for Council and Committee Members that is currently being implemented. A separate policy for contractors will be implemented soon.
Visitors and patrons of municipal facilities are required to continue following provincial guidelines, some of which are included in the provincial vaccination certification program.
On Thursday, the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) also reported that the number of staff who have declined the vaccine or refused to disclose their status has dropped from 38 a week ago to 31. CKHA President and CEO Lori Marshall also noted that 97 per cent of staff is either fully or partially vaccinated against COVID-19.
Marshall doesn't expect much movement in the percentage of staff changing their minds and getting the vaccine over the next week as the October 31, 2021 deadline for mandatory vaccination approaches. Those who are not fully vaccinated by the deadline will lose their jobs.
Marshall said the number of staff refusing the vaccine is so small that she doesn't expect any staffing shortages or impact to the medical services offered by the two hospitals in Chatham and Wallaceburg.
Chatham-Kent police are reporting that as of Friday, 83 per cent of officers are fully vaccinated, which is a big jump from the 71 per cent reported last week.
Meantime, a 22nd death linked to COVID-19 was reported by the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit on Thursday morning. Chatham-Kent Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Colby said an unvaccinated man in his 50s died at Windsor Regional Hospital after a long stay there.
The public health unit also reported one less outbreak locally. The outbreak at St. Ursula school in Chatham was declared over on Wednesday. That leaves three small outbreaks -- one at Kids Connection Daycare in Chatham, another at McNaughton Avenue Public School in Chatham, and the third at an unidentified workplace. The McNaughton school outbreak has been around for almost a month. All three outbreaks total 19 cases.
The number of active COVID-19 cases in Chatham-Kent also dropped by two on Thursday to 53.
CKHA reported two local residents in the hospital with the virus -- one is in the ICU but is not on a ventilator.
Dr. Colby noted he is only aware of one vaccinated person in the municipality who is dealing with long-haul COVID-19 after the shot. He said severe COVID is very rare in vaccinated people. Long-haul COVID-19 refers to the long-term symptoms people may experience after recovering from the disease.
