Another death linked to COVID-19 was reported in Chatham-Kent on Tuesday afternoon along with 17 new cases of the virus.
That brings the number of deaths to four and active cases to 31, an increase of 14 from Monday. The number of local COVID-19 patients in the hospital has now dropped from one to zero. The health unit also reported two recovered cases. Chatham-Kent Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Colby said the deceased patient passed away in a London hospital. Colby also said the new cases are all close contacts of a positive case, but not as part of an outbreak. He added very few of the new cases are connected to each other and "the vapour trails" lead outside of Chatham-Kent.
"We do not have unconnected cases," he said. "In fact, a majority of the positives were already isolated as contacts and directed to test by us."
CK Public Health has also declared an outbreak at Riverview Gardens long term care home after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19. It's the first long term care outbreak in Chatham-Kent since the pandemic started. Local public health officials said the infected person is in self-isolation and staff and residents who may have been exposed to the person have been notified and isolated as well. Under the Ministry of Health criteria, one positive case is enough to declare an outbreak in a long-term care home.
"Riverview Gardens has implemented outbreak management protocols, and all residents and staff have been notified," said Colby. "We are continuing to investigate and monitor the situation, and support the facility with education on infection prevention and control."
CK Public Health reminds the public it takes all of our efforts to protect our most vulnerable residents, including continuing to follow public health advice to keep COVID-19 controlled in our community. Safety measures include only travelling for essential purposes, physically distancing (two metres) from others, wearing a mask, washing your hands or using 70 per cent alcohol hand sanitizer frequently, and staying home if you are unwell.