125 active COVID-19 cases in Chatham-Kent

For the first time this year, the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit has updated their ‘current situation’ page, which provides a summary of COVID-19 cases and testing in Chatham-Kent, on Monday, January 4, 2021.

The active COVID-19 case count has risen to 125, a new record high.

The total number of cases has jumped to 776, CK Public Health officials say.

There are now nine active COVID-19 outbreaks across the community:

– Two institutional outbreaks: One at Riverview Gardens in Chatham and one at Copper Terrace in Chatham.

– Six un-named workplace outbreaks.

– One congregate living outbreak.

83 of the active cases are linked to close contact, 15 are unknown, 12 are linked to workplace outbreaks in Chatham-Kent, 11 cases have information pending,  two are linked to the congregate living outbreak, one is linked to workplace outbreaks outside of Chatham-Kent and one is linked to institutional outbreaks.

CK Public Health officials say two people from Chatham-Kent are currently hospitalized with COVID-19.

To date, 648 people have recovered from the virus in Chatham-Kent, while three people have died.

A total of 55,997 tests for the virus have been completed to date.

CK Public Health officials say since December 27, nearly 150 positive COVID-19 cases have been reported.

“What we do right now matters, Chatham-Kent, CK Public Health officials posted on social media on Monday, January 4, 2021.

“Due to increased community transmission and rapidly growing case counts across Ontario, the province-wide shutdown was initiated to help slow the spread of COVID-19. We must keep in mind that the people getting sick today have been exposed up to two weeks ago.”

CK Public Health officials added: “With increased contacts leading up to and through the holiday period, we are going to continue to see daily increases in reported cases. We likely wont start to see the benefit of our collective action for another couple weeks.”

Public health officials are encouraging the community to stay vigilant.

“We can do this,” CK Public Health officials say.

“In order to bend the curve and keep our CK community safe, we must continue to practice the recommended Public Health measures. Stay strong and stay focused, and stay home.”

The Public Health Unit is also set to update their ‘current situation’ page earlier each day during the week.

“As of Monday Jan 4, CK Public Health will change our COVID-19 status update time on the website from 2:30 p.m. to 10:30 a.m., Monday to Friday,” CK Public Health officials say.

“Weekday online status updates will now only include confirmed cases reported to CK Public Health up to the previous day. Confirmed COVID-19 cases are reported to CK Public Health throughout the day; to keep Chatham-Kent informed and up-to-date, we need time to gather investigation details, enter data into our information system, and ensure our information is accurate.”

CK Public Health officials added: “We hope this change will improve clarity around daily case counts, and consistent reporting practices between CK Public Health and the Province of Ontario.”

As of 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, December 26, 2020, Chatham-Kent joined a province-wide shutdown, which will be in effect for a period of 28 days.

“This shutdown is a collective effort made by all of Ontario to help bend the curve of the COVID-19 virus, and put the health and safety of all of us as our top priority,” CK Public Health officials say.

“These unfortunate but necessary measures are needed to stop the trend of high COVID-19 transmission in communities, preserve the capacity of our health care system, protect and support vulnerable populations and those who care for them, and save lives.”

CK Public Health officials added: “Together, we can make it through this as a resilient, compassionate, and united community.”

More details about the province-wide shutdown can be found, here.

Public health officials are encouraging people to continue following these public health measures:

To view the full ‘current situation’ page from CK Public Health, click here.

For more information about COVID-19, residents are asked to visit
http://www.ckpublichealth.com/covid19 or call the CK Public Health COVID-19 intake line at 519-355-1071 ex. 1900.

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