KAWARTHA LAKES-The Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit (HKPRDU)says two Coronavirus variants of concern have been identified in the City of Kawartha Lakes, although they would not specify where.
“The situation with variants of concern (VOCs) can change quickly. In fact as of now, there are 9 variants of concern cases in the HKPR District Health Unit region. Seven are in Northumberland County, while two are in the City of Kawartha Lakes.” Said Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ian Gemmill.
Gemmill says the source of all of these VOCs are tied to contacts with others outside the HKPRDHU region. The 9 VOCs involve three clusters and a single case… and in all these situations, these local VOCs are well under control as the people involved are isolating and limiting their contacts.
“What is worrisome is the continuing spread of coronavirus variants across Ontario. We are likely to see more of these VOCs in our region, so the need to take public health prevention measures continues to be important until more people are vaccinated.”
Dr. Gemmill reported there were three VOCs in the area on Feb. 17, so the additional six cases (including two in CKL) would’ve been reported in the past week
The Health Unit is still awaiting screening results to identify the specific variants in the City of Kawartha Lakes. Currently, Ontario is seeing these types of coronavirus variants circulating:
- B.1.1.7 (501Y.V1) – variant first identified in the United Kingdom in late November 2020.
- 501Y.V2 – variant first identified in South Africa at the end of December 2020.
- P.1 – variant first detected in travellers from Brazil who arrived in Japan in January 2021.
These variants tend to be more easily spread, so that is the concern with them, Gemmill says.
There were two new cases of the virus reported in the City today leaving 12 active cases. There are 77 high-risk contacts being followed up by the health unit. There have been 530 cases of Coronavirus in the City of Kawartha Lakes to date.
