The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

3 | The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,D ecem ber 10,2020 theifp.ca Our 20th An nual 45 Mountainview Road North, Georgetown, Ontario 905.877.7958 e-mail: hassellsauto@bellnet.ca • www.hassellautomotive.comSALES & SERVICE HASSELL AUT - Oil & Filter (Includes up to 6 litres regular oil.) - Complete top to bottom check over. - Installation of winter tires (already on rims) included. - $5.00 Tim's Card - Windshield Washer Fluid - 12 Pack of Pop EXTRAS $9495*Call for an Appointment Prices are +HST $7495*7495* Only Synthetic oil (up to 6 litres)*Most Vehicles. hassell automotive sales & service 45Mountainview RoadNorth, Georgetown, Ontario 905.877.7958 e-mail: hassellsauto@bellnet.ca • www.hassellautomotive.com Silver 2018 Halton Hills Our 21st Annua l NOWON!HASSELL AUTOMOTIVE Super WINTER Specia l As COVID-19 infections rise in Halton, public health officials are fighting to keep pace with the amount of legwork gener- ated by each new positive test result. "We are struggling right now with case and contact management," Halton Medical Officer of Health Dr. Hamidah Meghani told regional councillors dur- ing their most recent meet- ing. "While we are trying to on-board more and more staff towards this hercule- an task, it takes a lot of time (to get staff ready)." The province has set a benchmark for public health units to reach at least 90 per cent of resi- dents who've tested posi- tive for COVID-19 within 24 hours. In recent weeks, Halton Public Health has been averaging 70 to 80 per cent. Numbers have also been falling below 90 per cent when it comes to contact tracing in Halton, peaking mid-November with an average of almost 70 per cent of high-risk contacts being reached within 24 hours -- a figure that dropped to a 40 per cent average by month end. "We are absolutely try- ing our level best to make sure we're getting ahold of cases and contacts, but it is becoming a larger issue than is was back in Septem- ber," said Meghani. Since the pandemic started, Meghani said her staff has grown from 12 nurses on the communica- ble disease team to over 70 in the infectious disease control area of the health department. All are tasked with do- ing COVID-19 case and con- tact tracing, along with management of coronavi- rus outbreaks in the com- munity. But more hands on deck also equals the need for more managers to oversee them. "There just aren't enough supervisors, man- agers, and for that matter medical officers of health to go around," said Megha- ni. "We're doing our best to on-board individuals who have the right skill set, but at the end of the day we have to manage those indi- viduals as well in our orga- nization." Meghani said her staff will continue to grow over the next couple of weeks, with additional resources coming through the Minis- try of Health, including management support. Public health is also looking at other ways to make things more effi- cient, such as the automa- tion of some steps, she not- ed. "As those things come together, we should be able to save some staff time to make those first contacts happen more quickly," Meghani said. So what's the ultimate solution? "It's really about keep- ing case counts low," she said. "If we can do that, we can be much more efficient in Halton and surrounding communities at case and contact management." She strongly urged all residents to continue phys- ical distancing, wearing masks and reducing the number of people they're in contact with as much as possible. "COVID-19 is not going away. It's not going away in 2021," she said. "It will be here with us for some peri- od of time, and unfortu- nately that means we have to learn to live this way for a longer period of time." For further details visit halton.ca/COVID19. PUBLIC HEALTH GRAPPLES WITH INCREASED COVID-19 CASE LOAD Halton Medical Officer of Health Dr. Hamidah Meghani continues to urge residents to wear a mask, social distance and limit contacts. Metroland file photo MELANIE HENNESSEY mhennessey@ metroland.com NEWS