COVID-19: 27 more cases reported for Peterborough area as new workplace outbreak declared

Peterborough Public Health reported an additional 27 new cases of COVID-19 and another workplace outbreak in the city on Wednesday afternoon.

According the health unit’s COVID tracker at 4:24 p.m., there are now 132 active cases of COVID-19, up from 120 reported on Tuesday. The health unit serves Peterborough, Peterborough County, Hiawatha First Nation and Curve Lake First Nation.

The health unit also reported that of its 1,054 cumulative cases (two cases were removed from previous days), 313 are variant of concern cases, up from 310 reported 24 hours earlier. The first confirmed variant of concern was reported on Feb. 23.

Of the health unit’s total cases since the pandemic was declared, 910 are now declared resolved (up from 897 on Tuesday) — approximately 86 per cent.

One of two workplace outbreaks declared on March 31 was reported resolved on Wednesday, however, a new workplace outbreak (the fifth one) was declared late Tuesday. Case details were not provided.

There are six other active outbreaks in the health unit’s jurisdiction include:

• Congregate living facility in Peterborough: Declared Sunday, no case details provided.
• Workplace outbreak: Declared Friday in Peterborough County. No case specifics provided.
• Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School: Declared April 4 — remains at three cases as of Wednesday morning, according to the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. Unchanged. Two student cohorts have been impacted, one assessed as high-risk and will quarantine until April 14.
• Champlain College Annex at Trent University: Declared April 3 with three cases.
• Empress Gardens Retirement Residence: Declared March 22 after one employee tested positive. Two residents have died in hospital due to COVID-19 complications, the latest on Thursday morning — the health unit’s 12th death. Of the eight COVID-19 cases, one is now active as of Monday, the home reported.
• Workplace outbreak: Declared March 31, location not identified by the health unit.

2:48 Premier Doug Ford defends Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout

• Premier Doug Ford defends Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout
• Select Peterborough pharmacies to administer COVID-19 Vaccine
• More vaccine needed for the Peterborough region, and time is of the essence

Previous Video

Next Video

Since the pandemic was declared, the health unit has dealt with 222 COVID-19 cases associated with 37 outbreaks.

Other COVID-19 data for Wednesday:

• Other school cases: One case each at Kenner Collegiate, Holy Cross Catholic Secondary and St. Catherine Catholic Elementary, both in Peterborough and at North Shore Public School in Keene.
• Close contacts: 408, down from 440 on Tuesday.
• 36 cases have required hospitalized care since the pandemic was declared — up two since Tuesday; five required the intensive care unit (unchanged)
• Fleming College: Reports one case related to its Sutherland Campus in the city. The college says the individual was last on campus on April 6 and the case is deemed “low-risk.”
• Trent University: Reports at 4:30 p.m. one active case in student residence. The university states “not all active cases may be related to the current outbreak at Champlain College Annex.”
• Peterborough Regional Health Centre: Reports 24 COVID-19 inpatients — up from 19 on Tuesday. There have been 40 patient transfers from other areas — unchanged from Tuesday.
• Death toll: 12 since the pandemic was declared, two linked to outbreak at Empress Gardens Retirement Residence; one to the Severn Court Student Residence outbreak in Peterborough; three associated with a November 2020 outbreak at Fairhaven long-term care in Peterborough.
• More than 48,000 people have been tested for COVID-19 as of Wednesday’s update.