Chatham-Kent Public Health is confirming another death caused by COVID-19.
Officials say the latest victim was a woman in her 90s who passed away in hospital last week.
That’s in addition to another COVID-related death at the hospital on Sunday, which CKHA officials now say involved a 78-year-old woman who lived outside of Chatham-Kent and is therefore not included in the Public Health figures.
48 Chatham-Kent residents have now succumbed to the virus since the pandemic began.
In all, public health is reporting 24 new COVID cases today with a seven-day rolling average case count of 52.
Six outbreaks are still active involving four long term care facilities and two group homes.
There are 23 COVID patients at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, just nine of whom are being treated primarily for the virus. Four COVID patients are in the ICU and three in the Progressive Care Unit.
Meantime, provincial officials say new modelling shows the Omicron wave has now plateaued, however hospitals across Ontario are expected to see a prolonged peak.
At the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, CEO Lori Marshall says it’s still too early to declare victory over the virus.
“When you look at a graph, it’s important to remember there are just as many patients on the downslope as on the upslope,” Marshall says. “While we are very hopeful and I would say encouraged by the current statistics, it does not mean that our capacity has had a dramatic shift at this stage, and it will continue to take some time for that to occur.”