COVID-19 spreading in Kingston community with no known exposure: health unit
Global News
Dr. Piotr Oglaza, medical officer of health for KFL&A Public, says COVID-19 is spreading within the community and asks locals to get vaccinated and to stay home when sick.
The Kingston-area public health unit says that COVID-19 is now spreading within the local community, and is urging locals to take precautions if symptoms arise.
“Unfortunately, our case investigations show that individuals are not always following public health guidance and are ignoring symptoms and delaying testing,” said Dr. Piotr Oglaza, medical officer of health for the region.
“This puts everyone in the community at risk. If you feel sick, or even if you just have mild symptoms, make the responsible choice and get tested to protect yourself and your community.”
The health unit says community spread happens when there are many positive clusters of cases in the community that cannot be accounted for by known exposures.
Last week, in a press conference, Oglaza said that community spread was not being detected widely, and that cases were limited to clusters which could be dealt with by targeted interventions. It seems that has changed as of Tuesday.
This news comes as active cases have ballooned up to 179, the most the region has ever seen over the course of the pandemic.
More people are in hospital than ever before as well.
The health unit is urging locals to get fully vaccinated, limit indoor social gatherings, stay two metres apart and to wear masks indoors where distancing is not possible, and most of all – to stay home while sick.