By Jenna Cocullo, Local Journalism Initiative
Friday saw a jump of four new COVID-19 cases in Chatham-Kent, bringing the cumulative total to 29 positive cases.
Twelve individuals have recovered and one case resulted in death, leaving 16 cases active.
Public Health has recently changed its method of reporting cases and is no longer disclosing the age, gender and status of each individual case. Instead they are providing a community snapshot with the percentage of males to females; individuals in self-isolation, hospitalized, recovered or deceased; as well as age groups.
As of Friday afternoon Public Health officials had not updated this data to correspond with the four new cases.
To date, 825 tests have been issued, 157 of which are still pending.
The Chatham Kent Health Alliance is exploring the possibility of a drive-thru model for COVID-19 testing to improve access for those that require examination.
Drive-thru testing is when individuals drive up to a location and get swabbed without having to leave their cars. The process for testing, in other Ontario communities that have implemented drive-thru testing has remained the same, with the most at risk being tested first and through referrals from their various health units or hospitals.
“CKHA is exploring all opportunities to support increased testing as directed by the government, and making the Assessment Centre more efficient,” Caen Suni, VP Clinical Programs and Operations, said.
On Thursday, provincial public health officials announced expanded testing guidelines including children and seniors showing symptoms which are not normally linked to COVID-19.
The province said testing should also be increased for homeless shelter staff and residents, daycare for essential workers, group homes, prisons, vulnerable patients, and members of households with frontline workers.
Dr. David Colby, Chatham-Kent medical officer of health, said drive-through testing has some flaws in the system, although it has the ability to satisfy the need for increased testing.
“I think there is considerable pressure on the system to increase the amount of testing based on the premier’s remarks. But there’s also the issue that the sensitivity of the test doesn’t really make it well suited to use as a screening test in asymptomatic people,” he said.
Colby explained that some tests can come back with false negatives in asymptomatic individuals and it is difficult to know what time in the incubation periods the test would become positive.
He said that a person is able to shed the virus (the body releases the virus into the environment) between the period between infection and the onset of symptoms, meaning for the first four days, on average, they may feel well until they feel the symptoms on day five of the virus.
“The question is at what day does the test become positive? The person has been infected since day zero, and I’d be willing to bet you the test will be negative on Days 0, 1, 2 and 3 at the very least,” he said.
Colby also said that adults are more likely to feel unwell but children will remain asymptomatic for the most part.
“And yet, they’re going to become communicable and symptomatic later even though they have a negative test. So a negative test, even if it performs 100 per cent and finds everything that it’s supposed to, it’s only a snapshot of negativity,” he said.
Colby said a point-of-care test performs better and is more valuable because they will be able to know on the spot if a person is shedding the virus and they can get the results within an hour.
