Two new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Timmins.
There have now been 57 confirmed cases of the virus in the Porcupine Health Unit region since the start of the pandemic. Of those, 34 cases are resolved and three people have died.
The 56th case is a man in his 80s who was identified through the investigation into the Timmins and District Hospital outbreak. He is admitted to hospital.
The 57th case is a woman in her 70s who is a contact of a case. She is in self-isolation.
The health unit is aware of 1,652 tests in the area, which is an increase of 67 from the last report. There are 539 tests under investigation.
For the local cases, 35 have been in Timmins. Of those, 21 cases are resolved and two people have died. There have been 21 cases in the area of Cochrane, Matheson, Iroquois Falls, and Smooth Rock Falls. Of those, 12 are resolved and one person has died. There has been one case in the area of Kapuskasing, Opasatika, Val Rita-Harty, Moonbeam, and Fauquier-Strickland and it is resolved.
The outbreak at the Timmins hospital was declared Sunday, April 19 after a patient tested positive.
There are also outbreaks at St. Mary's Gardens, where a staff member tested positive, and Spruce Hill Lodge, where two residents tested positive. One of the cases at Spruce Hill is now listed as resolved, however.
There are COVID-19 Assessment centres in Timmins, Cochrane, Iroquois Falls, Kapuskasing, 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 11 a.m. to 3 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 include 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.
