THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay District Health Unit announced eight new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Sunday, with the number of active cases in the district continuing to rebound after a steady decline in recent weeks.
All eight cases involved individuals in Thunder Bay and the surrounding areas. Four were considered a result of close contact with a previously identified case, one of travel outside of the region, another had no known exposure and two were listed as pending.
The number of active cases in the district rose to 67 Sunday, an increase of 5. Three infected individuals were newly listed as recovered.
That marked a continued rebound in active cases in recent days. Active cases had reached as low as 48 on Jan. 6, after declining over several weeks from an all-time high of 128 on Dec. 11.
The recent uptick was fueled in large part by 17 new cases announced Saturday.
Three individuals were hospitalized with the virus Sunday, a decline of one from the day before. However, a second one of those patients had been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.
No further deaths were reported Sunday by the health unit or Southbridge Roseview, the long-term care home that has accounted for 20 of the district’s 22 total COVID-19 deaths. The Roseview outbreak had continued to shrink, with eight active cases reported Sunday.
With Sunday's cases, the district had seen a cumulative total of 660 cases since the pandemic arrived here in March, of which 571 were considered resolved.
The district had a 24.7 per 100,000 incidence rate and 1.2 per cent positivity rate for the week of Dec. 27 to Jan. 2, the most recent data made available by the health unit.
Meanwhile, Ontario shattered its previous single-day case record, announcing 3,945 new cases Sunday. That continued a rising trend Premier Doug Ford recently described as "scary."
