The number of active COVID-19 cases in the City of Kawartha Lakes has spiked following the confirmation of additional cases in an outbreak at the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay over the weekend, according to a media release from the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit
Of the increase of 88 confirmed cases in Kawartha Lakes over the weekend, 67 are related to the outbreak. As of Tuesday (May 25), there are 122 inmates and nine staff who have tested positive for COVID-19.
“Our staff are working closely with the health services staff within the facility to help prevent any further spread,” says local medical officer of health Dr. Natalie Bocking in the media release.
“We have seen these measures implemented in outbreaks in other correctional facilities in the province and they have helped prevent any further spread and helped bring the outbreaks to a close,” Dr. Bocking adds. “Coupled with increased infection and prevention control measures being implemented by the facility, we hope to see these individuals recover and no further cases, “.”
The health unit first declared an outbreak at the facility last Monday (May 17), after six inmates in various areas of the facility were confirmed positive for COVID-19. The outbreak was then declared facility-wide as additional inmates and staff were confirmed positive.
The health unit says its laboratory testing has detected mutations consistent with a COVID-19 variant, but the specific variant lineage is yet to be confirmed. The type of variant is determined by whole genome sequencing, and it can take several weeks before results are available.
