1 COVID-19 variant of concern, 15 total cases associated with Queen’s University

Dr. Kieran Moore says he expects to see more COVID-19 variants of concern related to an outbreak at a Queen’s University residence.

On Friday, KFL&A’s medical officer of health said that in total, there are 15 cases of the coronavirus associated with the university, some of which are linked to an outbreak at Watts Hall.

In total, six people in the residence tested positive, and six of their secondary contacts (some of which are on- and off-campus) and three others off-campus have caught the disease. Moore says the health unit is still investigating the links between the on- and off-campus cases.

Of those 15, one person has tested positive for a variant of concern, Moore says. He believes that more will test positive for a variant in the coming days.

Unfortunately, it can take weeks to tell which mutation is present, Moore says.

Due to the outbreak, Queen’s has locked down Watts Hall and moved other students to different residences.

The university announced Friday that the Athletic and Recreation Centre has also suspended all group activities.

“This includes all varsity team and club activities, intramurals, group fitness classes, and pool activities. Capacity for individual workouts at the ARC will also be reduced immediately. These changes will be in place until further notice,” the university said in a statement Friday.

In total, the KFL&A region has seen seven known cases of variants of concern, and 27 active cases.

Moore says the region remains in the green zone but is moving ever closer to infection rates that would push it into the yellow zone, and is urging people to take precautions to limit the spread of the virus, including not attending gatherings over the St. Patrick’s Day week.

A Section 22 order to limit gatherings inside and outside to five people will go into effect Saturday and run until the following Saturday.