CORNWALL, Ontario – In an update to the media on Monday, July 27, Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, Chief Medical Officer of Health for the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) explained a concerning recent trend that has seen a jump in COVID-19 cases amongst younger patients.
Dr. Roumeliotis explained that this development was province wide and that the EOHU region was no exception.
According to Dr. Roumeliotis, in May the EOHU had 45 reported cases of COVID-19 with only three of those presenting in patients less than 40-years-old.
Since June, the EOHU has reported 25 cases, 11 of which are in people under 40 and five in people under the age of 18.
“This change of demographics is top of mind for a lot of people. We are wondering what is going on,” said Dr. Roumeliotis. “We know that individuals who are less than 40, a lot of them go to parties in Quebec, or parties with people from Quebec.”
As of Monday, July 27, there have been 175 cases of COVID-19 identified in the EOHU region, with 154 resolved. There are four active cases in Prescott-Russell, five in SD&G and one in Cornwall.
Two individuals in the region are currently hospitalized due to COVID-19 and there have been 11 deaths.
The EOHU continues to encourage the public to practice social distancing wherever possible and to wear a mask when indoors and practice regular hand washing.
COVID-19 assessment centres are active in Cornwall, Winchester, Alexandria, Akwesasne, Cassellman, Rockland, and Hawkesbury.