SIOUX LOOKOUT, Ont. – The Northwestern Health Unit reported eight new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Friday.
That included three in the Sioux Lookout health hub, three in the Dryden hub, and two in the Kenora hub, which together have accounted for the vast majority of recent cases.
Follow-up with those involved and their contacts has begun, the health unit said in a statement released via Facebook.
There were 42 active cases across the NWHU as of Thursday (the health unit did not update its data on Friday, a statutory holiday).
Of those, 17 were in the Sioux Lookout hub, 11 in the Dryden hub, 10 in the Kenora hub, and one each in the Fort Frances and Red Lake hubs. A full list of communities in each NWHU health hub is available at the agency’s website.
Seven NWHU residents were in hospital with the virus as of Thursday.
The NWHU had an incidence rate of 38.8 cases per 100,000 people for March 22 to 28, the most recent week reported by Public Health Ontario. That rate is now well below the provincial average of 101.1.
The health unit had a testing positivity rate of 1.81 per cent for the same period, with 1,878 tests completed.
The health unit has reported a total of 693 confirmed cases since the pandemic began, with 651 considered resolved. That includes six deaths, though that figure includes "those who had COVID-19 at time of death but died of another cause," the health unit notes.
The neighbouring Thunder Bay District Health Unit will not report new COVID-19 data on Friday or Sunday over the Easter holiday weekend. The data for those days will be included in the following day’s report.
