Chatham-Kent’s local health unit is planning to launch a new online tool to inform the public on current respiratory illness activity in the community.
Laura Zettler, an epidemiologist with Chatham-Kent Public Health, said the health unit will be launching the new respiratory season surveillance tool in November.
She said the information provided through the tool will be similar to what was included in weekly COVID-19 reports that were published during the pandemic. However, the new report will also include influenza data, information on overall respiratory activity in Chatham-Kent, and updates on newly reported facility outbreaks.
Zettler said the online tool will be similar to the Seasonal Infectious Diseases Bulletin that was recently launched by Lambton Public Health, which provides weekly updates.
Further details about CK’s respiratory illness reporting tool are expected to be provided at the Board of Health meeting next week.