CORNWALL, Ontario – The total number of active COVID-19 cases in the region jumped to 178 on Monday, an increase of 27 since Friday, March 5.
Of the new active cases 16 were in Cornwall and 11 were in SD&G.
“We’re at red, believe it or not, we are almost there,” said Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, Medical Officer of Health with the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU). “If you look at the trend it is not going in the right direction.”
Dr. Roumeliotis also told the media that variants of the COVID-19 virus are beginning to spread in the region, with 15 cases of COVID-19 variants discovered so far across the EOHU region.
Thus far, the EOHU region remains in the Orange Level of the provincial COVID-19 response plan, but if trends continue, the EOHU could be placed in the more restrictive Red level.
Dr. Roumeliotis did share good news about the vaccine.
“Over the weekend, we had a meeting with the General (Rick Hillier) and we were told that our vaccine allocations would be ramped up significantly,” Roumeliotis said. “Will be getting between four-to-five thousand doses a week going forward. We are now going forward with those numbers to rev-up phase one. It will allow us to plan more longer term.”
The EOHU has completed vaccinating all residents and staff members of long-term care facilities, and announced last week that it would soon be able to begin vaccinating seniors aged 80 and over.
“We expect that by mid-March, eligible individuals will be able to make an appointment using our online tool. We will be updating our website as we have more information to share about scheduling COVID-19 vaccine appointments for eligible individuals,” reads a statement from the EOHU.
As of Monday, March 8, there are 178 active COVID-19 cases in the region, which breaks down as follows: 64 in Cornwall, 17 in the northern portion of Akwesasne, seven in South Glengarry, 30 in South Stormont, one in South Dundas, four in North Dundas, two in North Stormont, six in North Glengarry, four in East Hawkesbury, three in Hawkesbury, zero in Champlain, 16 in Alfred and Plantagenet, 15 in Clarence-Rockland, five in The Nation, one in Casselman, and three in Russell.
