The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Wednesday that we’ve never been in a better position to end the COVID pandemic.
That appears to be true here at home.
The Northwestern Health Unit is reporting a dramatic drop in high risk cases this week.
The case count has gone down from 91 to 47.
The test positivity rate has dropped to 17.5 per cent.
It was 20.1 per cent last week.
There are now only two institutional outbreaks, one in hospital and one in a long-term care home.
Local health officials note the numbers are lower than the ‘real’ number due to the fact many people are not eligible for PCR testing and instead test positive on Rapid Antigen tests at home and are not counted in the total.
Case numbers include (Health Hub):
-Sioux Lookout (on reserve): 30
-Sioux Lookout (off reserve): 5
-Kenora: 5
-Dryden: 3
-Fort Frances: 2
-Red Lake: 1
-Rainy River: 1
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is with the WHO and says we’re approaching the finish line in his most optimistic speech yet about the pandemic.
He says the number of reported deaths last week was the lowest since March 2020.
“We’re not there yet, but the end is in sight. A marathon runner does not stop when the finish line comes into view. She runs harder, with all of the energy she has left. So must we.”
The virus has killed roughly 6.5 million people worldwide.
