SIOUX LOOKOUT, Ont. – The Northwestern Health Unit reported three new COVID-19 cases Sunday, all concentrated in its Sioux Lookout health hub.
That brought the number of active cases across the NWHU to 72, an increase of nine from one week ago.
Of the active cases, 38 were in the Sioux Lookout hub, 18 in the Emo hub, 8 in the Kenora hub, 6 in the Dryden hub, and one each in the Rainy River and Fort Frances hubs.
A full list of the communities included in each health hub is available on the NWHU’s website.
Three district residents were in hospital with the virus Saturday, a figure that remained unchanged from the day before.
The NWHU reported a testing positivity rate of 2.2 per cent on 2,041 tests for the most recent week reported, April 4 to 11.
Its incidence rate has risen significantly in recent days, reaching 67.3 cases per 100,000 people for the week of April 8 to 14, the most recent period reported by Public Health Ontario.
That compares to incidence rates of 40.7 in the neighbouring Thunder Bay District Health Unit, and 201.6 province-wide, for the same period.
The health unit has recorded COVID-19 variants of concern in the Dryden, Kenora, Sioux Lookout, and Fort Frances areas. The agency does not track the total number of variant cases identified in its catchment area, however, NWHU medical officer of health Dr. Kit Young Hoon said last week.
The health unit has reported a total of 808 confirmed cases since the pandemic began. Of those, 72 are active and 736 considered resolved, including seven deaths. That figure includes those who had the virus at time of death, but may have died of another cause, the health unit notes.
The Thunder Bay District Health Unit announced last week it would no longer report daily counts on Sundays, instead combining those numbers in Monday's report.
