THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay District Health Unit reported 43 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Saturday, with active cases rising to remain near record levels.
Of the new cases, 39 involved Thunder Bay area residents, 3 were in district First Nations, and another was in an unspecified district community.
Twenty cases were considered a result of household contact, seven from other close contact. An exposure category was unknown for eight cases, and pending for seven others.
A final case was associated with a COVID-19 outbreak at the Walford retirement home, marking a total of 20 cases reported there since March 10.
With 32 cases declared resolved Saturday, active cases rose slightly to 446 across the Thunder Bay District. That number hit an all-time high of 470 on March 7.
There were 36 district residents in hospital with the virus as of Saturday, the health unit reported, including one new hospitalization. Nine of those individuals were in the Intensive Care Unit.
There were a total of 46 patients with COVID-19 and 14 in ICU as of Friday in the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, which also serves the region beyond the Thunder Bay District.
A COVID-19 outbreak was declared at the hospital Friday.
The health unit has now reported a total of 2,299 cases since the pandemic began, with 687 of those in March alone. Of those, 1,816 are considered resolved, with 37 deaths attributed to the virus.
The health unit had a COVID-19 incidence rate of 272.7 cases per 100,000 residents for the most recent rolling seven-day period reported, March 3 to 9. That more than doubled the closest rate of 109.2 in Lambton, and compared to a provincial average of 56.9.
