By Jenna Cocullo, Local Journalism Initiative
Chatham-Kent’s recent surge of COVID-19 cases seems to have slowed down.
On Thursday, CK Public Health reported two new cases, bringing the cumulative total to 243.
Fifty-five cases are currently active. Four individuals are hospitalized, three of which are staying at a hospital in Windsor.
On Wednesday, Public Health announced that a recent surge of cases in Chatham-Kent and southwest Ontario have come from the Low German-speaking population.
READ MORE: COVID case spike tied to Low German-speaking community
At a press briefing on Thursday, Chatham-Kent’s medical officer of health, Dr. David Colby, told reporters that more than 50 of Chatham-Kent’s cases are linked to that particular community.
Colby said he was concerned about potential backlash for the entire Low German-speaking community, however, he felt it was necessary information to reveal publicly.
“I consider this a public health issue that was important to tell the community about, there really hasn’t been much of a geographic concentration as far as that goes,” he said.
Colby also said the outbreak is not centred around any specific community in Chatham-Kent. The source of the cases came from the agricultural outbreak in Windsor-Essex, and therefore cases are likely to be higher in western Chatham-Kent, he added.
Colby said, as medical officer of health, he is always concerned when there are more cases, however, the general public should feel safe.
“It really is spreading amongst close, and family contacts, all the way through. What would really concern me would be if I started seeing cases where a contact cannot be identified and a source cannot be identified,” Colby said. “We are not seeing the kind of scenario that you would expect. If this was spreading by casual visits to retail environments, grocery stores and the like.”
