The Northwestern Health Unit is calling it an unfortunate milestone.
Officials says 1 in 100 people in the area have now been infected with COVID-19 and the region’s positivity rate is currently 6.5 times higher than it has been for much of the pandemic.
With variants of concern circulating in the area, especially in Dryden and Kenora, the health unit warns the rate could increase quickly.
“Variants of concern spread quickly and are the reason why our hospitals are quickly becoming overwhelmed across the province,” said Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kit Young Hoon. “We will see a large increase in cases, and potentially an increase in deaths, unless residents follow the restrictions that are in place.”
To date there have been 65 COVID-19 related hospitalizations and 7 deaths.
There were 11 new positive test results Friday.
Six were in the Fort Frances area, 3 in Kenora, 1 in Dryden and 1 in the Sioux Lookout region.
The active case count is at 71, up from 66 reported Thursday.
The Kenora region still leads the way with 31 active cases, followed by the Fort Frances health hub with 19, six in the Emo area, five each in the Dryden and Sioux Lookout hubs, two each in the Red Lake and Rainy River regions and one in the Atikokan area.
The regional health authority tells us there is good news going into the weekend, as the number of hospitalizations is down from five on Thursday to three on Friday.
The Thunder Bay District Health Unit recorded only 1 new case today and the number of actives are at 63.
Ontario reported 3,887 new cases and 21 COVID related deaths.
