The NWHU confirmed 24 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday, with 12 of those in the Fort Frances area, 10 in the Kenora area, and two in the Rainy River area.
The active case count rose to 61 Thursday, more than doubling over the course of two days.
By region, there were 27 cases active in Fort Frances, 20 in Kenora, five in Sioux Lookout, four in Rainy River, two each in Dryden and Emo, and one in Red Lake. There were no active cases reported in the Atikokan area.
Three NWHU residents were in hospital with the virus as of Thursday, up from one the day before.
The health unit issued a statement Wednesday asking residents to “significantly limit” the number of people they have contact with immediately, especially indoors.
The health unit also urged residents to avoid travel beyond Northwestern Ontario over the holiday season earlier this week.
The agency said it was tracking increased COVID-19 risk across the region, with clusters of cases in Kenora, Dryden, and Fort Frances.
Ontario's COVID-19 science advisory table said Thursday the province will need to implement measures to reduce social contacts by 50 per cent to avoid unstable levels of ICU occupancy in January, thanks to the increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant.
The province reported 2,421 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday, the highest total in about seven months.
The NWHU has yet to report cases of the Omicron variant, though medical officer of health Dr. Kit Young Hoon has said it’s just a matter of time before that happens.
Ontario public health authorities expect Omicron to overtake Delta as the dominant variant in the province by month’s end.
The surge of cases in the NWHU comes as the neighbouring Thunder Bay District Health Unit appeared to bring a COVID spike of its own under control, with active cases falling to 60 Thursday, down from 137 on Dec. 6.
