Huron Perth Public Health Confirms Three New Cases Of COVID-19

Saturday, 28 March 2020 at 14:15

Three more cases were confirmed in Huron and Perth, including a Stratford man in his 60's and a woman in her late 40's from St. Marys, bringing a total of five cases to the area.

HURON/PERTH - Huron Perth Public Health has confirmed three more cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to five in the area.

HPPH sent out a press release today stating they had three more laboratory confirmations in Huron and Perth.

The three cases include a man in his 60's from Stratford and he is in self-isolation at home. He has had close contact with two confirmed cases in London.

A woman in her late 40's from St. Marys, a healthcare worker, is in self-isolation at home with no travel or known contact with the confirmed cases. She was not seen as a contact of the first two confirmed cases in St. Marys, but this is under review according to the release.

And a man in his 60s from South Huron who was transferred to London Health Sciences Centre after he was at South Huron Hospital and he has no travel history or known contact with positive cases.

Medical Officer of Health Dr. Miriam Klassen says the results reveal the virus is spreading in the area.

“We were not surprised to receive these three new cases in Huron Perth. The new cases confirm that we are now seeing local spread in our area, which is a similar pattern to what has been showing up across Ontario.”

The two first confirmed cases were people from St. Mary's and the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance says one of them is still in critical condition Stratford General Hospital, while the other continues to self-isolate at home.

She adds staff will be conducting thorough contact tracing related to these confirmed cases.

“Please be assured that public health is following all necessary case management to ensure that close contacts are contacted and receiving instructions from us. If our investigation reveals that the case attended a public event while able to transmit illness, further information will be shared with our community.”

Everyone in the community is being strongly encouraged to follow guidelines to help prevent the spread.

“It’s important for everyone to practice physical distancing. Anyone who has symptoms of illness should be self isolating from others – even in their own household.”

The following are actions can taken every day to help prevent the spread of germs and viruses like COVID-19:

- Wash your hands often with warm water and soap or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid contact with people who are sick.
- Stay home when you are sick.

If someone is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, such as a cough or a fever, they're encouraged to do the following:

- Complete the Ontario government’s On Line Assessment tool.
- If the online tool tells you to seek clinical assessment, contact the office of your family doctor for a phone assessment. If you do not have a family doctor, contact Huron Perth Public Health. It is important that you do not visit your doctor’s office without calling first.
- If further action is needed, you will be given directions by the assessor. For those without access to a computer, contact the office of your family doctor for a phone assessment. If you do not have a family doctor, contact Huron Perth Public Health.

If they're calling for a Virtual Assessment after hours and on weekends, they're to call TeleHealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000 or Huron Perth Public Health at 1-888-221-2133 ext. 3267 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm and Saturday and Sunday, 9am to 4pm).

Dr.Klassen says they'll only be posting new confirmed cases online.

"We remain committed to keeping our community updated and aware of the risks of COVID-19. We urge everyone to continue following public health guidance and to practice physical distancing – it may take some time, but it will work in helping to flatten the curve.”

You can visit here to learn more information.