FORT FRANCES, Ont. – The Northwestern Health Unit reported 12 new cases of COVID-19 Saturday, with the number of active cases rising to 80.
That marks an increase of 26 active cases over the past three days, though it remains below a high of 107 set in the NWHU in February.
NWHU medical officer of health Dr. Kit Young Hoon warned residents of increasing case numbers at a press conference Friday.
As of Saturday, there were 28 active cases in the NWHU’s Kenora health hub, 17 in the Sioux Lookout hub, 16 in the Fort Frances hub, 14 in the Emo hub, 3 in the Red Lake hub, and 2 in the Dryden hub.
Of the 12 cases reported Saturday, seven were in the Fort Frances hub, four in the Kenora hub, and one in the Sioux Lookout hub. A full list of the communities included in each health hub is available at the health unit's website.
Three NWHU residents were in hospital with the virus as of Saturday, unchanged from the previous day.
The health unit has recorded COVID-19 variants of concern in the Dryden, Kenora, Sioux Lookout, and Fort Frances areas, but does not track the number of confirmed variant cases, Young Hoon has said.
The NWHU had a testing positivity rate of 4.04 per cent on 1,261 tests for the most recent week reported, April 12 to 18.
The health unit had an incidence rate of 62.7 cases per 100,000 people for the most recent week reported, April 14 to 20.
That compares to incidence rates of 26.7 in the Thunder Bay District Health Unit, and 200.3 province-wide, for the same period.
A total of 21,827 vaccine doses had been administered in the NWHU, the agency reports. NWHU residents can find more information on how to book a vaccine appointment at the health unit’s website.
The health unit has reported a total of 873 cases since the pandemic began, with 80 active and 793 considered resolved. That includes seven deaths, though the health unit notes the virus may not have been the cause of death in all cases.
