Although the testing criteria for COVID-19 has been expanded in Ontario to include asymptomatic people, Chatham-Kent's Medical Officer of Health doesn't expect the number of cases in the municipality to soar.
On Sunday, Premier Doug Ford urged people to get tested if they're concerned about possibly being exposed to the virus.
“If you’re worried if you have COVID-19, or that you’ve been exposed to someone who has COVID-19 — even if you’re not showing symptoms, please go get a test," said Ford. "You will not be turned away.”
Dr. David Colby said although new cases will likely "trickle in" he doesn't expect the new testing criteria to have a major impact locally.
"If you look at the demographics of this, if there is a huge number of unknown, undiagnosed cases spreading this in Chatham-Kent, we would have more people in the hospital," he said.
There is currently one Chatham-Kent resident in the hospital as a result of COVID-19. However, Colby said that person is expected to make a full recovery.
The majority of cases reported in Chatham-Kent are linked to an outbreak at a local greenhouse facility. As of Sunday afternoon, there were 23 active cases at Greenhill Produce in Kent Bridge. Colby said those workers are doing relatively well and are not severely sick, adding for the most part, Chatham-Kent has fared well compared to other jurisdictions.
"We have had a very liberal testing policy in Chatham-Kent," said Colby. "People who have symptoms are more likely to have this virus than people who are asymptomatic. You will occasionally find people that don't have any symptoms that are positive but the majority of people definitely get symptoms -- at least in adults."
Colby said it's still unclear whether the same can be said for children, "we're learning more and more about this all of the time."
As more is being done to learn about the novel coronavirus and develop a vaccine, the province is currently in phase one of its framework in reopening businesses. However, based on photos of large gatherings in areas such as Toronto over the weekend, Colby said he does have concerns moving forward.
I understand that the photos of people in Trinity Bellwoods were disappointing today. It was a beautiful day & we all want to enjoy our city together, but this could be selfish & dangerous behaviour that could set us back. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/cKVj0DdBhh
— Dr. Eileen de Villa (@epdevilla) May 23, 2020
"The idea of relaxing things before we see a sustained drop [in the number of cases], that strategy does worry me," said Colby. "I think we need to be smart about this. Yes, get back to business and get things rolling again but not in a way that we compromise physical distancing. I'm very upset. I saw those pictures from Trinity Bellwoods Park... what were those people thinking?"
Ford said on Sunday, a detailed testing strategy, with a focus on targeting hot spots within Ontario will be laid out at some point this week.
