Due to testing changes and an ongoing surge of COVID-19 cases related to the Omicron variant, the local public health unit is changing the way provides information on the virus.
Chatham-Kent Public Health said it can no longer provide the accurate number of people with COVID-19 in the municipality, due to reduced eligibility for PCR testing that the provincial government introduced in late December. As well, the highly contagious Omicron variant has made it challenging for all public health units to provide accurate and timely information on case details.
“We do not have confidence that our numbers are capturing even a specific fraction of what’s going on in the community,” said Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Colby. “Omicron is so contagious that there really is no prospect of community control. You can only control outcomes.”
As a result, CK Public Health will no longer release daily surveillance reports on COVID-19 cases within the municipality, beginning next week. Instead, the health unit will provide reports with new information three days per week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The health unit will also provide a report on Wednesdays that will describe trends from the past week.
“We are really trying to get away from this idea that everybody hinges on what today’s number is. It’s the changes in numbers over time that are important,” said Colby.
The health unit said it is currently more important to focus on COVID-19 trends over time and less on the daily case count, in order to assess the current situation locally.
CK Public Health initially ceased its reporting of active case numbers at the beginning of the year. As of Monday, the health unit will also no longer report case details such as age, sex and geography.
