COVID-19 cases continue to surge throughout Northumberland County according to data released Tuesday by the region’s health unit.
In the update — which encompasses data from Saturday to Monday — the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit reported 41 new cases in Northumberland County. There were also three new cases in the City of Kawartha Lakes and two in Haliburton County.
On Saturday, the health unit reported 14 new cases in Northumberland, six in the Kawarthas and seven in Haliburton County.
The number of active cases for the health unit has jumped to 92 on Tuesday — up from 51 reported on April 1 and 69 on Saturday — which includes 63 in Northumberland County, 22 in the Kawarthas, and seven in Haliburton County.
A week ago, on March 30, the number of active cases in the health unit’s jurisdiction was at 29 — 16 in Northumberland and 13 in the Kawarthas.
Of the 94 new cases seen in the past seven days, more than 26 per cent of the new cases were among youth aged 14 to 18 years of age, the health unit notes.
“We know the majority of cases in Ontario are variants of concern and this is also the case in our area,” stated Dr. Natalie Bocking, the new medical officer of health. “As we have been hearing, these variants spread more quickly and easily than the original COVID virus and we are seeing that happen as well.”
Variant cases also continue to climb, now at 91 and up from 76 reported on Saturday.
A new outbreak was also reported at Timber House Resort in Brighton. Case details were not provided.
Other active outbreaks include:
- St. Mary Catholic Secondary School in Cobourg: Declared Sunday after five cases were reported. School closed.
On Tuesday evening, Northumberland County reported the outbreak at the Golden Plough Lodge long-term care in Cobourg was over. It was declared March 31 after an employee tested positive. No other residents or staff tested positive.
“This is most welcome news for our residents, families and staff,” stated administrator Bill Detlor.”We appreciate the ongoing support from our public health partners as we strive to exercise the greatest caution in our work to keep residents and staff safe.”
Of the health unit’s 1,236 cases since the pandemic was declared in March 2020, there are now 1,089 deemed resolved — approximately 88 per cent.
Other case data for Tuesday:
- Death toll — unchanged at 68 (55 in the City of Kawartha Lakes, 12 in Northumberland County and one in Haliburton County).
- Hospitalizations — 53 (up from 51 on Saturday) with four people currently in hospital, four in an intensive care unit. Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports two admitted COVID-19 patients as of noon Tuesday.
- 283 high-risk contacts, up from 207 reported on Saturday.
- Schools with cases within health unit’s jurisdiction: St. Mary Catholic Secondary in Cobourg (five cases); Cobourg Collegiate Institute (six cases); C.R. Gummow Public School in Cobourg (one student case); North Hope Public School in Campbellcroft (one case); Ganaraska Trail Public School in Port Hope (one case); Grafton Public School (one case) and Archie Stouffer Elementary School in Minden (one student case);
The health unit remains in the yellow-protect zone under Ontario’s provincial COVID-19 response framework.
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New medical officer of health
Tuesday also marked the first day for the health unit’s new medical officer of health Dr. Natalie Bocking. She replaces Dr. Lynn Noseworthy who retired in December 2020. Dr. Ian Gemmill had been serving as acting MOTH h in the interim period before Bocking assumed the role.
“I am looking forward to building relationships with our partners, our stakeholders and our board so that we can work together and continue to make a difference in the communities that we serve,” stated Bocking. “Community partners are vital to the work that we do. This is a team effort. A lot of the problems that public health is tackling are huge and it would be impossible without our community partners.
“I went into public health because I thought that some of the issues or health problems I was seeing in family medicine really could have been addressed so much more effectively at a population level and that was really where public health fit for me.”
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