THUNDER BAY – While other regions of Ontario hit with a surge in COVID-19 cases will see a return to stronger public health restrictions, the head of the Thunder Bay regional hospital’s pandemic response team says there’s no need yet for similar measures here.
“We have one active case in a population of over 110,000," said Dr. Stewart Kennedy, executive vice-president of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, Friday afternoon. "At this point in time, the amount of COVID-19 in the community is very, very, very low – because we’ve been good as a population."
Earlier in the day, the provincial government ordered Toronto, Ottawa, and Peel region into a modified version of Stage 2 restrictions as of midnight, closing gyms, movie theatres, and dine-in service at restaurants.
The announcement came as the province set new single-day case records on two consecutive days, announcing 797 new cases on Thursday and 939 on Friday. The number of COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals and ICUs is also on the rise.
Friday’s regionally targeted approach was in contrast to the Ford government’s move to lower gathering limits on Sept. 18, when it imposed stricter caps across the entire province.
Kennedy said he’s worried about broader provincial trends and the associated risk that the virus will spread further to the Northwest. Even with the hospital more ready to face a potential rise in cases than it was before the initial surge in March and April, he said, risks remain.
“I am concerned regarding the amount of COVID-19 patients in the province, and also the prediction to increase over the next two weeks,” he said. “But certainly I’m also relieved to know we’ve learned a lot from wave one.”
“We have adequate PPE supplies, we have adequate drugs, and we have adequate capacity – but we can still get overwhelmed from the hospital perspective, so it is very concerning.”
