CORNWALL, Ontario – In his daily update to the media, Dr. Paul Roumeliotis of the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) explained that five individuals had been hospitalized with COVID-19.
In total, there are 44 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the EOHU region, an increase of ten since Friday.
Of the five that are hospitalized, three are in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), two of those are in Cornwall at the Cornwall Community Hospital (CCH) and are being ventilated. So far, there have been no reported deaths in the region.
“We have to make sure that the situation remains manageable for our hospital system, right now the situation is manageable,” said Dr. Roumeliotis.
Dr. Roumeliotis pointed to the five COVID-19 assessment centres that have opened up across the region. The assessment centres are designed to alleviate pressure from local hospitals while at the same time, keeping people potentially infected with COVID-19 out of them.
Currently there are assessment centres in Cornwall, Rockland, Casselman, Hawkesbury and Winchester. The Cornwall assessment centre is located in the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health right next door to the CCH.
In his update, Dr. Roumeliotis also asked people to remain mindful of social distancing with the upcoming Easter holiday.
“I urge everyone, don’t gather with your families. Stay home,” he said. “It is well worth doing to protect the vulnerable people around us.”
“There is still a visible number of people that are gathering and acting as if it is business as usual,” Dr. Roumeliotis went on to say. “It is not business as usual.”
Dr. Roumeliotis predicted that limits on large public gatherings will likely remain in effect into May.
