Two new cases of COVID-19 and another dozen variants were reported in the Peterborough area on Thursday, according to the region’s health unit.
Peterborough Public Health‘s COVID-19 tracker site as of 4:23 p.m. listed 76 active cases in its jurisdiction, down from 81 reported on Wednesday. The health unit’s jurisdiction includes Peterborough, municipalities of Peterborough County, Curve Lake First Nation and Hiawatha First Nation.
There are now 101 presumed variant of concern cases, another increase from the 89 variants reported Wednesday — 44 of the variants stem from the ongoing outbreak at Severn Court Student Residence in the city’s west end which as of Thursday morning had 56 cases of COVID-19. The health unit’s first confirmed variant of concern (the B.1.1.7 United Kingdom variant) 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.
Eight student cases of COVID-19 at Trent University’s Champlain College are linked to Severn Court’s outbreak, the health unit has reported.
On Thursday, Fleming College reported four cases related to its Sutherland Campus in city, down from seven on Wednesday. The college said in-person classes will resume next week after being cancelled for two weeks starting March 1 due to the Severn Court outbreak.
Trent University again reported nine active student cases, eight related to those living in residence and one student living off campus. The university notes not all of the cases are connected to Champlain College outbreak.
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Of the health unit’s 747 cumulative cases since the pandemic was declared in March 2020, 662 are now resolved — approximately 89 per cent. There were 655 cases reported resolved on Wednesday.
The only other active outbreak for the health unit is at Regency Retirement Home in Lakefield, which was declared on March 6. The health unit on Thursday said the outbreak is stable but has not provided case details.
Since the pandemic was declared, the health unit has reported 173 cases linked to 27 outbreaks — three more cases since Wednesday.
Other case data for Thursday:
- Close contacts: 222 (220 were reported on Wednesday)
- Peterborough Regional Health Centre: “Less than 5” COVID-19 patients on Thursday after reporting zero patients on Wednesday. There have been 17 patients total as a result of transfers from other areas due to provincial directives.
- Hospitalized cases: 26 since the pandemic was declared (three required the intensive care unit)
- Death toll: 9 since the pandemic was declared, three associated with a November 2020 outbreak at Fairhaven long-term care in Peterborough
School cases in the health unit’s jurisdiction:
- St. Catherine Catholic Elementary School: 2 cases reported March 10 by the Peterborough, Victoria, Northumberland Catholic District School Board; school board says individuals are isolating at home and they did not attend the school while they were infectious; school remains open
- James Strath Public School in Peterborough: 1 student case reported Feb 26, school remains open;
Testing
On Thursday, the health unit reported that more than 44,650 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.
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