Holiday surge sees 13 new COVID cases
Number of active cases climbs to 70; nearly 40% of total cases so far have come in December
Thirteen new COVID-19 cases in Peterborough city and county, Curve Lake First Nation and Hiawatha First Nation were reported Thursday afternoon by Peterborough Public Health as a post-Christmas surge in cases continued.
Three cases were also reported as recovered, raising the total active cases to 70, the most the jurisdiction has seen at one time since the pandemic began in March.
It was also one of the highest daily case tallies of the pandemic. The new cases came on the same day that Ontario set a record high daily tally for cases with 3,328 new cases and 56 deaths.
There have now been 348 confirmed cases during the pandemic, with 273 resolved and five earlier deaths.
The health unit also reported one new hospitalized case on Thursday. Peterborough Regional Health Centre now has three patients with COVID-19 on unnamed in-patient units and another in an intensive care unit who had been transferred from another hospital. That’s the most patients with confirmed COVID-19 that the hospital has had at one time during the pandemic.
Nearly 40 per cent of Peterborough’s total cases have come in the month of December alone. There had been 212 cases at the start of the month.
The virus continues to hit people of all ages. Ten of the active local cases were youths under 20 and 15 were people in their 20s, Public Health Ontario reported.
The jurisdiction now has a cumulative rate of 235.4 cases per 100,000 people, less than a fifth of the provincial cumulative rate of 1,281.7 cases per 100,000 people as of Thursday.
COVID outbreaks that were declared Dec. 23 at Riverview Manor nursing home and Community Living ’s congregate living facility on Romaine Street remained in effect on Thursday.
Curve Lake First Nation reported having between one and four cases as of Thursday.
Trent University issued a statement Thursday asking that students returning from out of the country on Christmas break to have proof of a negative COVID-19 test before arriving in the country from a test taken within three days of departure.
Arriving students then need to quarantine upon arrival and need to get tested five to seven days after arrival, according to the university.
Fleming College’s Sutherland Campus reported one active case prior to the start of the
Christmas break.
There was one active student case at St. Peter Secondary School in Peterborough and one active student case at St. Paul School in Norwood prior to the start of the Christmas break.
More than 39,200 residents, or 26.5 per cent, have been tested at least once for the virus, the health unit also reported Thursday.
Peterborough Public Health did not update area COVID-19 reports on New Year’s Day, with new numbers expected Saturday by 5 p.m.
COVID-19 testing continues at Peterborough Regional Health Centre and at Northcrest Arena, both by appointment only. To book a spot, visit prhc.on.ca and at peterboroughpublichealth.ca.
The Northcrest Arena clinic is closed until Monday.
The PRHC clinic reopens Saturday.
Testing by Peterborough Public Health staff can also be arranged in the home by calling 705-743-1000.
Nearby areas
Six new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the City of Kawartha Lakes along with three in Northumberland County and one in Haliburton County were reported Thursday afternoon by the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit.
One of the cases in the City of Kawartha Lakes was also hospitalized, the 22nd hospitalization of the pandemic so far in the jurisdiction.
Seven people in the City of Kawartha Lakes and two in Northumberland County have also recovered, the health unit reported.
The health unit has had 517 cumulative cases and now has 36 active cases: 252 in the City of Kawartha Lakes with 19 unresolved, 235 in Northumberland County with 15 unresolved and 30 in Haliburton County with two unresolved. There were 34 earlier deaths.
The jurisdiction now has a cumulative rate of 273.6 cases per 100,000 people since the pandemic began, less than a quarter of the provincial cumulative average of 1,281.7 cases per 100,000 people as of Thursday.
The health unit is also monitoring 185 people in Northumberland County, 46 in the City of Kawartha Lakes and three in Haliburton County who are considered to be at high risk because of close contact with a confirmed case, along with 28 others.
An outbreak was declared Dec. 21 at Golden Plough Lodge nursing home in Cobourg. There are also outbreaks at an unnamed school and congregate setting.
Three inmates at Warkworth Institution federal prison tested positive recently but two of them have recovered. Another 822 inmate tests have now been conducted as of Thursday.
An inmate at the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay also tested positive for the virus on Dec. 22.