THUNDER BAY – Dr. Stewart Kennedy said it’s possible community spread may have been a factor in the latest batch of COVID-19 cases to arrive in the city.
Kennedy, who is heading the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre’s COVID-19 response efforts, also confirmed that all five new cases announced on Thursday by the Thunder Bay District Health Unit involve local patients.
“That makes eight in Thunder Bay and one in Nipigon,” Kennedy said, meeting with local media on Thursday afternoon
“This is not unexpected. We’re still searching down the contacts of the new five individuals identified yesterday and late the night before. Some have travel history, but this could be the first known case of community spread. It’s not confirmed yet, but it certainly heightens the community awareness of community members to make sure they’re doing all the right things.”
The Thunder Bay District Health Unit announced the new positive cases, but did not provide any detail into the patients’ location, condition or background.
The new cases, and the fact some could be the result of community spread, means changes could be coming soon to Thunder Bay Regional.
“We’re preparing now, once we confirm the community spread from the health unit, that the emergency room will be a hot zone,” Kennedy said. “So when you come into the emergency department, it will be presumed that you have COVID-19, so we can protect the staff.”
However, Kennedy added he still wants the public to know that if they need urgent care, they should come to the hospital to seek treatment.
“You’re just going to see different attire on our whole emergency room. They’re going to be in gloves, they’re going to be in surgical masks. They’re going to be in their gowns. But they’re always going have a smile on their face and they’re there to help you,” Kennedy said.
For now, the hospital is well equipped with personal protective gear, but Kennedy said they will need to resupply soon and protocols are being put in place asking health-care workers to stretch out the length of time they’re using their masks, for example.
Kennedy said it will be up to the health unit to confirm community spread, cautioning it takes time to go through a person’s history and contacts to determine where and how they contacted the virus.
“Dr. (Janet) DeMille will make that announcement once she’s done her thorough investigation. It’s a big thing to announce community spread. She wants to do her due diligence and make sure she’s got all the information. There’s a lot of work being done in public health.”
Kennedy also said one of the three previous Thunder Bay COVID-19 cases, a woman, is still in hospital, but noted she is doing well and may soon be released.
