Coronavirus: Kingston-area health unit announces 6th COVID-19 variant of concern

An active case of COVID-19 in the region has tested positive for a variant of concern, KFL&A Public Health announced Monday .

This would be the area’s sixth lab-confirmed case of a COVID-19 mutation so far.

Testing is currently being done on all swabs of positive cases of COVID-19 to check for variations, but molecular testing, which takes several weeks, is still needed to determine which mutation is present.

So far, the health unit has only identified the first variant of concern in the region as the B.1.1.7. strain, but says it has not received any more information about the other cases.

Otherwise, the region’s case numbers grew by only one Monday, a male under 10 years old. The health unit said the boy’s case was outbreak-related.

1:59 KFL&A Public Health discovers a COVID-19 ‘variant of concern’ in the Kingston area

As of Monday, there were a total of 15 cases related to COVID-19 outbreak at Tiny Hoppers, a daycare in the city’s west-end. One of those 15 cases is now resolved.

There is only one other active outbreak in the region, at Mitech Machine and Fabrication in Napanee. All but one of the 11 cases associated with that outbreak have resolved.

There are 21 active cases of COVID-19 in the region, and no one in hospital.