By Chad Ingram
The jurisdiction served by the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge DistrictHealth Unit experienced its first COVID-19-related death during theweekend with a man in his 80s passing away at Lindsay’s Ross MemorialHospital on March 22.
According to a press release from the healthunit the man was admitted to the hospital on March 19 exhibiting highfever and “influenza-like illness” and tested positive for the COVID-19 virus on March 21. Pneumonia and COVID-19 were listed as his causes ofdeath.
“We offer our sincere condolences to this man’s family andour thoughts are with them during this sad time” Dr. Lynn Noseworthymedical officer of health for the HKPR District Health Unit said in the release. “Unfortunately this man’s tragic passing highlights that wenow have community transmission of COVID-19 in our area.”
Noseworthy emphasized anyone feeling ill or returning to the country from abroadis to self-isolate for a period of two weeks and in general everyone is encouraged to practice physical distancing keeping a minimum distanceof two metres from one another. It is recommended that people limit time out making essential purchases and avoid public settings.
The province’s online self-assessment tool is available at https://www.ontario.ca/page/
At press time there remained 10 confirmed cases of the novel coronaviruswithin the HKPR district but none within Haliburton County. Six ofthose cases were men and women in their 60s and 70s who’d recentlyreturned from travel abroad four from within Northumberland County andtwo from the City of Kawartha Lakes. Those individuals were allself-isolating according to the HKPR District Health Unit website.
Additionally in the City of Kawartha Lakes three residents of a Bobcaygeon nursinghome are confirmed to have the virus and are being kept in isolation.
