Peterborough Public Health reported 14 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday afternoon.
According to the health unit’s COVID-19 tracker website as of 4:16 p.m., there are now 86 active cases in its jurisdiction, up from 84 active cases reported Monday. The health unit serves Peterborough, Peterborough County, Curve Lake First Nation and Hiawatha First Nation.
There are now 87 presumed variant of concern cases, another increase from the 78 variants reported on Monday and 56 reported on Friday. The health unit’s first variant of concern was the B.1.1.7, first detected in the United Kingdom, which was reported on Feb. 23.
A presumed variant is defined as having tested positive for a mutation, but it requires further genomic sequencing to determine its specific strain, the health unit notes. Testing at the Public Health Ontario labs generally takes 7-14 days. Once a strain is identified, it is then placed on the tracker’s “confirmed” case list.
The outbreak declared Feb. 20 at Severn Court Student Residence in Peterborough’s west end has been a key factor in the surge in cases and variants, prompting the region to move into red-zone status on Monday.
An outbreak also declared March 5 at Trent University’s Champlain College residence is linked to the Severn Court outbreak, the health unit said Monday.
Case updates were not provided Tuesday, but as of Monday morning there were 51 cases linked to the Severn Court outbreak.
A section 22 order has been placed at Severn Court on Wilfred Drive and Fleming College closed its Sutherland Campus for two weeks beginning March 1.
On Tuesday, Fleming College reported seven cases related to the Sutherland Campus; Trent University reported nine active student cases, eight related to those living in residence and one student living off campus.
Of the health unit’s 737 cumulative cases (a case was also added to a previous day), 642 are now resolved — approximately 87 per cent. There were 629 cases reported resolved on Monday.
The only other active outbreak for the health unit is at Regency Retirement Home in Lakefield, which was declared on March 6 (case details unavailable).
Testing
On Tuesday, the health unit reported that more than 44,440 people have been tested for the novel coronavirus. To get tested for COVID-19, book an online appointment. Testing for those without symptoms or with mild symptoms is held at the Northcrest Arena in Peterborough.