SIOUX LOOKOUT, Ont. – The Northwestern Health Unit reported 20 cases of COVID-19 over the weekend, with its active case count doubling over the past week.
The 20 new cases reported Saturday and Sunday included 10 in the Sioux Lookout region, 8 in the Kenora region, and 2 in the Dryden/Red Lake region.
There were ten NWHU residents in hospital with the virus as of Friday, the latest data provided by the health unit.
The province announced on Friday the region would move into the Red-Control level in Ontario’s COVID-19 response framework, effective Monday – a rapid shift from its previous Yellow-Protect level.
Active case numbers have steadily climbed over the past week, though they remain below highs seen in February, when the NWHU had the highest per capita rate of COVID-19 in Ontario at several points.
There were 88 active cases across the NWHU as of Sunday: 45 in the Kenora region, 26 in the Sioux Lookout region, 10 in the Dryden/Red Lake region, and 7 in the Rainy River region.
The active case count hit a record 107 on Feb. 19, driven largely by a major outbreak in Wabaseemoong Independent Nations, but had fallen to 44 by March 7.
The health unit reported two new confirmed cases of the B.1.1.7 variant on Friday. There have now been three cases of the variant confirmed in the NWHU.
There had been 3,463 vaccine doses administered to NWHU residents as of March 12. The health unit serves a population of 82,231 spread across an area covering roughly one fifth of the province.
