THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay District Health Unit reported 40 new cases of COVID-19 Saturday, as well as eight new hospitalizations.
There were 35 district residents in hospital with the virus Saturday, including 11 in the Intensive Care Unit.
Of the new cases, 38 involved Thunder Bay area residents, one was in a district community, and another was in a First Nation.
Twenty-eight of the cases were a result of close contact with a previously identified case, six had no known exposure, one was related to an ongoing outbreak at the Thunder Bay District Jail, and the exposure category for five others was pending.
New cases have slowed at the jail, with only two reported in the past week.
The active case count fell to 386 Saturday, thanks to 43 previous cases declared resolved. That remained close to a record of 397 active cases set Thursday.
The district's incidence rate remained easily the highest in the province at 181.4 cases per 100,000 people for the most recent week of Feb. 24 to March 2 reported by Public Health Ontario.
The health unit has reported 1,883 confirmed cases since the pandemic began, with 1,465 considered resolved, 386 active, and 32 deaths attributed to the virus.
Note: The TBDHU's daily update web page initially showed an additional COVID-19 death, which was later amended to no change in the category.
