With declining case counts, Chatham-Kent Public Health has issued its final COVID-19 surveillance report.
According to today’s report from Chatham-Kent Public Health, 23 new cases have been confirmed between May 7th and the 20th, averaging 1 new high-risk case a day.
One new outbreak was declared in a group home setting, but was declared over on May 18th.
The positivity rate in Chatham-Kent sits at 11.1%, compared to the provincial rate of 7.9%.
The data reports have been scaled back this spring, from weekly to every other week, and now being phased out entirely.
CK Public Health announced earlier this month the practice would be “paused” as of June 1st.
“As COVID activity has reduced and become more normalized there is a need to further integrate respiratory virus surveillance and reporting in the province and at a local level,” said Public Health Epidemiologist Laura Zettler. “We are only scaling back our public-facing reporting and we will continue to conduct case management, surveillance and reporting to the Ministry according to provincial guidance.”
Local COVID data can still be found through Public Health Ontario’s interactive Ontario COVID-19 data tool, which is updated each Friday with statistics including case counts by hospitalizations and deaths, vaccine uptake by age, sex, and public health unit, and outbreaks.
Zettler says should COVID become a risk to public health once again, the Public Health Unit will use various communication methods, including local media, to deliver the necessary information.
Since the pandemic was first declared in March, 2020, there have been 11,622 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Chatham-Kent and 104 deaths caused by the virus.