12th COVID-19 Case Now Confirmed By APH

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Content Team
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COVID-19 in Algoma

Algoma Public Health is now reporting a 12th case of COVID-19 Friday morning.

The health agency is releasing very little information about the case, only stating it is a female in her 30’s.  She was tested on April 14th and currently self-isolating.

SaultOnline.com / ONNtv has learned that this case is a resident in the city of Sault Ste. Marie.

Yesterday, APH reported an 11th case surrounding a 60 year old woman.  The Algoma Public Health has been criticized for the lack of information they are providing the public surrounding the confirmed cases in the area.

Elliot Lake Mayor Dan Marchisella has told media that he thinks the health unit is “unreliable”. “I’d like to be blunt and honest, Algoma Public Health’s communications have been unreliable and late to the table and frankly not forthcoming at all”, Marchisella told media outlets.

 


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40 COMMENTS

  4. Shouldn’t the Algoma Public Health be providing the public with contact trace information and details of the infected person’s activities ( areas visited/ grocery stores visited/ bus routes taken etc) This information is vital in identification and prevention of future COVID cases.

  6. Shouldn’t the Algoma Public Health Unit be provided contact trace information. For example … details of the infected person’s activities / areas visited within the Sault. (grocery stores, bus routes). This is vital to early identification/prevention of more COVID cases.

  9. Faith Hackney first of all it has been a pandemic for weeks now…second, no where does it say they died, which not one of those 12 has…third, you need to educate yourself and read all the articles…just do what the government asks of us and stay home!!

    • Christina Rose no we are advocating for the same as most commenters… community the cases are confirmed in and a more timely flow of information. With new cases transitioning to contact related, it is even more important to know where they are. Don’t need to shame people who contracted it, don’t need addresses… would be nice to know Sault, Goulais, Elliot Lake and any other community like most other Public Health agencies across Ontario are doing.

      • Actually, I think it’s very important to know where it came from. Sure, we should be acting like it’s already here, because it is obviously (without you having to tell us) here. People deserve to know if the infected people were in the same stores as them, because the reality is people still need to go out to get groceries. For front line workers like grocery store employees, they deserve to know if they’ve been exposed for the sake of their family. So please, stop trying to play the know it all card and realize that this information is important to people…even people who are anxious over the whole pandemic and need some peace of mind. Stop being a jerk.

    • Ashley Rae-Anne Austere Hello again everyone! 😁

      Today, I would like to say a few words about the “low number of COVID-19 cases in Algoma.”

      APH reports that we have had 11 confirmed cases in Algoma, 6 confirmed cases resolved and 1 new case announced in the last 24 hours that represents “community transmission”.

      Community transmission means that a person contracts the disease in their own community, without qualifiers like travel, being exposed to someone who travelled, etc. I truly believe we have had community transmission for weeks, we just haven’t detected it until now based on the low testing rates (see below).

      I want to be very clear that we should not feel reassured by the low number of confirmed cases in our region just yet. Remember, these are *confirmed* cases. For various reasons to date, our testing rates have been abysmal; only 1092 people were tested which represents less than 1% of the population of Algoma!

      Based on what we know about the epidemiology of this virus, there are likely hundreds of true COVID-19 cases in Algoma, if not thousands … most of them probably had mild disease or were entirely asymptomatic. These people likely didn’t seek care or perhaps were told to self-isolate, which is fine (assuming they followed the rules).

      Based on data from other jurisdictions, we know that a large proportion of cases are only mildly symptomatic or completely asymptomatic. Remember, you can still spread the disease without symptoms.

      We cannot draw any firm conclusions about what’s truly going on in the district with less than 1% of the population tested. Stated differently, there is no evidence that we should feel reassured about this yet … not until we have way more people tested, and understand better how this is all going to play out in our province and in our country.

      We need to continue following the rules. The advice is just as important now as it has been all along. Do not fall into the trap of being reassured by the low number of confirmed positive cases in Algoma!!!!

      Also, just because you see reports of very high profile “leaders” breaking the rules (we won’t mention any names 😉) doesn’t mean you should follow their poor and abhorrent example.

      With all of that said, I can say that our hospital is not full of suspected COVID-19 cases. Thankfully, we are starting to test more people now, and the tests are starting to come back faster. The more people we test, the better idea we have about what’s truly going on.

      At the hospital, we are still hoping for the best but planning for the worst … the Memorial Gardens will be used as a field hospital if needed and we are very seriously pursuing that.

      Additionally, Canada is doing relatively well in our approach to dealing with COVID-19 compared to other countries (we won’t mention any other countries 😉). That means all of the restrictions (including physical distancing) are working! That’s fantastic news! I can’t tell you which restriction is better than the other, but all of them together seem to be doing the trick *so far*.

      I want to acknowledge again that all of these restrictions are very difficult to follow. Feel motivated that you are saving lives by following the rules. Thank you for continuing to take the advice very seriously!

      BOTTOM LINE: We are not out of the woods yet. Not even close. Prepare to keep following the rules very strictly for weeks … at minimum. Stay positive and stay safe. Know that your local health care professionals care about you and are concerned for your well-being.

      SNEAK PEEK: There may be a time when your health care providers are sending a different message than the government. I will keep you posted on that when we get there.

      I am a front line hospital physician and a clinical epidemiologist, and I am qualified to give you this advice.

    • Paula Sherwin I know it’s so sad i know there are lots out there has to be…. I have server asthma and have a hard time breathing already let alone if I caught it. Im Practically couch surfing as I dont have a permanent residence have a place for one more month max on odsp so cant afford last months rent so this is a very scary time for those of us that have preexisting health issues and high risk due to not being able to properly social distance in my own home.

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