The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit (HKPR) has found a “variant of concern” in a resident.
The test results came back last night. The resident lives in Northumberland County. “The individual had already been identified as a confirmed case and has been in isolation prior to receiving notification they have a variant of concern,” officials with HKPR say. “All of the person’s high-risk contacts had also been reached previously and are in isolation as well.”
Officials say they do not know yet which of the three active variants of concern the individual is infected with. The three variants have been identified in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil.
“While it is unfortunate that we are seeing a case with the variant of concern, it is not unexpected,” said HKPR Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ian Gemmill. “The three variants have been identified across Canada, and their high level of transmissibility has just meant it was a matter of time before we saw something locally.”
“Even though the provincial stay-at-home order is going to be lifted next week, I am pleading with people to continue to stay home to stop the spread,” Dr. Gemmill said. “Just because the order has been lifted, it does not change the virus, it does not change the epidemiology of the virus and it does not change the risk of spreading it to others.”