THUNDER BAY — A member of Thunder Bay city council wants the Thunder Bay District Health Unit to change how it reports the location of COVID-19 cases.
Councillor Aldo Ruberto raised the issue Monday night as council routinely discussed the approval of the minutes of TBDHU board meetings.
The health unit currently only provides a broad description of where individuals disagnosed with COVID-19 reside.
Cases are categorized as being situated in one of the following:
- Thunder Bay & surrounding area including Oliver Paipoonge, Neebing, Gillies, Shuniah, Conmee, O'Connor, Unorganized Territories
- District communities including Dorion, Red Rock, Nipigon, Schreiber, Terrace Bay, Marathon, Manitouwadge, Greenstone
- First Nation communities
No municipality or First Nation is specifically identified in the TBDHU's public announcements.
The health unit says this is to protect the identity of individuals and to comply with privacy law.
However, Ruberto argues "I don't think anyone's suggesting we drop our rules or protocols. I'm just asking why we can't have the numbers for Thunder Bay."
He said "It would be nice to know the exact numbers that are in the city itself," noting that there are 109,000 people in Thunder Bay, so that couldn't possibly identify anyone.
Mayor Bill Mauro said privacy concerns in smaller communities were cited when the question was raised recently at a meeting of the city's Municipal Emergency Control Group.
Councillor Kristen Oliver, who sits on the board of health, concurred.
"There have been situations where some of the smaller communities neighbouring Thunder Bay...have had positive COVID-19 tests, and it has caused some concern. As a result, the decision's been made that public health would report based on the city and surrounding areas."
Oliver added that it's doubtful how helpful it would be to identify Thunder Bay-specific cases.
"It's really important to understand we are to act like anybody you come in contact with could be a carrier of COVID-19, and we have to be implementing the safety protocols" at all times regardless, she said.
Councillor Shelby Ch'ng, who was chairing the council meeting, suggested the issue be taken up with the TBDHU.
A spokesperson told Tbnewswatch the health unit has no plan at present to change its disclosure protocol.
As of Tuesday morning, there were 23 active COVID-19 cases in the District of Thunder Bay, all of which have been reported in recent days.
A graph produced by the TBDHU shows the current spike.
No individuals are currently hospitalized.
Eight new cases were announced Tuesday morning alone, all of which involve individuals in either the city or the townships surrounding the city.
Eighty-two percent (115) of the 140 COVID-19 cases reported so far this year have occurred in Thunder Bay and immediate area.
There have been 18 cases in First Nations communities in the district, and seven cases in district municipalities.
