By Jenna Cocullo
As of Thursday morning, there have been 18 positive cases of COVID-19 in Chatham-Kent, with only one resulting in death, and four resolved.
There are 58 pending results among 411 tests given out to date.
Dr. David Colby, medical officer of health, confirmed the case at a media conference with Public Health, Mayor Darrin Canniff, CAO Don Shropshire, and Lori Marshall, president and CEO of Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA).
With three of the 18 cases being linked to Community Living, Public Health is now testing a large network of people associated with the service.
“We’re isolating all of the contacts that we’re able to identify and whenever we get another positive. We make sure that from that perspective, all the contacts are identified and isolated,” Colby said.
There is no evidence to suggest that the curve is flattening in Ontario, as there are still more than 500 cases a day coming to light. Colby said the high numbers that are still coming in could be a reflection of increased testing capacity.
“The test bottleneck has been addressed. So now, we have more testing capacity in Ontario than tests that are being ordered,” he said, adding that Chatham-Kent Public Health has broadened the indication for their testing.
“We had to be a little restrictive when testing capacity was short of demand. But, now that’s opened up, and we’re doing everything.”
Dr. Colby also explained the discrepancy between Public Health’s and CKHA’s COVID-19 statistics, saying they have received a lot of confusion and questions about their reporting methods.
Public Health’s numbers consist of only positive cases found with Chatham-Kent residents, whereas CKHA’s statistics include individuals from elsewhere (such as Windsor) who ended up in one of their hospitals.
CKHA’s numbers for tests issued and pending results are based solely on tests done at the assessment centre, whereas Public Health also includes testing done for individuals who have to remain in their homes, he explained.
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