Provincial implementation supports for socio-demographic data collection during COVID-19 in Ontario's public health system.

Setting: The Ontario government implemented a regulatory change to mandate the collection of socio-demographic (SD) data for individuals who tested positive for COVID-19. This change was informed by evidence of COVID-19's disproportionate impact on marginalized communities and calls for broader collection of SD data. Given the scarcity of similar efforts, there is a significant knowledge gap around implementing standardized SD data collection in public health settings.

Surveillance of persons-who tested negative for COVID-19 in Ontario, January 22-February 22, 2020.

As of January 22, 2020, "disease caused by a novel coronavirus" became a reportable disease of public health significance in Ontario. Public health units were provided with guidance on the entry of patients tested for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus causing 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19), into the provincial public health information system. Between January 22 and February 22, 2020, there were 359 individuals who had a negative test result recorded and three confirmed cases of COVID-19.

All together now: aggregating multiple records to develop a person-based dataset to integrate and enhance infectious disease surveillance in Ontario, Canada.

Setting: Syndemics occur when two or more health conditions interact to increase morbidity and mortality and are exacerbated by social, economic, environmental, and political factors. Routine provincial surveillance in Ontario assesses and reports on the epidemiology of single infectious diseases separately. Therefore, we aimed to develop a method that allows disease overlaps to be examined routinely as a path to better understanding and addressing syndemics in Ontario.

Getting a grippe on severity: a retrospective comparison of influenza-related hospitalizations and deaths captured in reportable disease and administrative data sources in Ontario, Canada.

Background: Since 2009, in Ontario, reportable disease surveillance data has been used for timely in-season estimates of influenza severity (i.e., hospitalizations and deaths).