SIOUX LOOKOUT, Ont. – The Northwestern Health Unit reported 12 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Saturday, seeing its active case count rise to 62.
Of the new cases, five were in the Dryden health hub, four in the Sioux Lookout hub, two in the Fort Frances hub, and one in the Kenora hub.
Active cases rose to 62, with 34 of those in the Sioux Lookout hub, 16 in the Kenora hub, 8 in the Dryden hub, 3 in the Fort Frances hub, and 1 in the Rainy River hub.
Speaking on Friday, NWHU medical officer of health Dr. Kit Young-Hoon said it was too early to say what could be driving recent increases in the Sioux Lookout area, but said the agency was "monitoring the situation closely."
A single district resident was in hospital with the virus as of Saturday, the health unit reported.
The NWHU had a testing positivity rate of 1.68 per cent on 1,905 tests completed over the most recent week reported, March 29 to April 4.
The NWHU has reported a total of 754 confirmed cases since the pandemic began, with 62 active and 692 resolved. That includes seven deaths in which the deceased was positive for COVID-19, though the health unit notes that includes those who may have died of another cause.
The latest COVID-related death was reported by the health unit on Friday.
As of Saturday, 14,056 doses of vaccine had been administered to district residents, with more than half of those going to individuals under 60 years of age.
