Chatham-Kent's Medical Officer of Health is expressing "cautious optimism" about the local COVID-19 crisis.
Dr. David Colby said the six new cases over the weekend were expected. He added there were no surprises and there's no cause for alarm.
"Most of the new cases over the weekend in CK were people we identified through contact tracing, so we isolated them and referred them for testing," he said. "No surprises nor causes for alarm."
Colby said the daily tally of new cases in Ontario peaked at 550 on April 8 and has dropped since with Sunday's new case count at 401 in Ontario. He said more testing will help track cases.
Dr. Colby said the latest CK Public Health numbers show the Intensive Care Unit at the Chatham hospital is not overwhelmed, there is nobody in the hospital recovering from COVID-19, seven cases have been fully resolved and those people are out of isolation. A woman in her 80s is the only coronavirus death recorded in CK to date. There are currently 25 cases in Chatham-Kent but how a woman in her 50s was infected is still not known. All other cases reported this weekend were transmitted through close contact.
CK Public Health reported on Monday afternoon that 550 swab tests have been done but 78 results are still pending.
Colby said even though he is expressing cautious optimism, he understands Chatham-Kent is "not out of the woods yet."
Dr. Colby is also dispelling rumours about municipal staff at Riverview Gardens long term care home not having enough personal protective equipment. The home is operated by the municipality. He said there is enough PPE at the facility in the short term. Colby added those employees have been asked to work in one facility only to avoid the spread of the virus. CAO Don Shropshire said Riverview Gardens is also hiring nursing students to help staff keep residents safe.
