THUNDER BAY – Key COVID-19 indicators in the Thunder Bay District continued a slow downward trend in numbers released by the local health unit Friday.
There were 40 people positive for COVID-19 in district hospitals as of the end of day Wednesday, the health unit reported, down slightly from 43 in its previous report Wednesday.
Four of those patients were in the ICU, down one from the last report.
The COVID hospitalization figure has declined consistently since reaching a recent peak of 65 on May 5.
The health unit was tracking 11 active COVID-19 outbreaks in high-risk settings as of Friday.
That included outbreaks at the St. Joseph’s Hospital, the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre, long-term care homes Southbridge Roseview Manor, Southbridge Pinewood, Hogarth Riverview Manor, Chartwell Glacier Ridge, the Chartwell Thunder Bay retirement home, and some other facilities not publicly disclosed.
The health unit reported 50 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 since its lasts update Wednesday. The total active cases of 228 was down from 300 on Wednesday.
Public health authorities continue to caution the actual number of active cases is likely much higher, since PCR testing is limited to vulnerable groups only, and since the results of rapid antigen tests are not included in the tally.
The weekly test positivity rate in the health unit fell to 17.7 per cent for the week of May 8 to 14, down from 24 per cent the previous week.
Medical officer of health Dr. Janet DeMille stated earlier this week there were signs a “sixth wave” of COVID-19 infections had plateaued last week and begun to decline.
