A sixth death related to COVID-19 has been reported by the Porcupine Health Unit.
According to the health unit, it was a woman in her 60s who tested positive April 13 and is in the area of Cochrane, Matheson, Iroquois Falls and Smooth Rock Falls. Her death is not related to an institutional outbreak.
“On behalf of the PHU, we extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends,” said Dr. Lianne Catton, Medical Officer of Health, in a news release.
The health unit is not reporting any new confirmed cases of the virus today.
To date, there has been 65 confirmed cases in the area. Of those, 52 are resolved and six people have died. The health unit is following seven known active cases of the virus in the region.
The health unit is aware of 4,154 tests being done locally, which is an increase of 41 from the last report. There are 280 tests under investigation.
For the local confirmed cases, 41 have been in Timmins. Of those, 31 cases are resolved and four people have died. There have been 23 cases in the area of Cochrane, Matheson, Iroquois Falls, and Smooth Rock Falls. Of those, 20 are resolved and two people have died. There has been one case in the area of Kapuskasing, Opasatika, Val Rita-Harty, Moonbeam, and Fauquier-Strickland and it is resolved.
There are COVID-19 Assessment centres in Timmins, Cochrane, Iroquois Falls, Kapuskasing, Smooth Rock Falls, Hearst and Hornepayne. They are by appointment only and you must be referred by your primary healthcare provider or the health unit.
The PHU COVID-19 hotline is open today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It can be reached at 705-267-1181 or 1-800-461-1818.
The health unit is doing expanded testing on people with milder symptoms for a limited time.
The expanded list of symptoms includes cough, fever, and difficulty breathing as well as sore throat/hoarse voice, difficulty swallowing, loss of smell or taste, fatigue, muscle aches, runny nose, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and nausea or vomiting.
