As the second phase of reopening takes effect today, the Porcupine Health Unit says it's critical for people to keep doing their part to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The last positive test was reported in the region May 10.
To date, there have been 65 confirmed cases in the area. Of those, 57 are resolved and seven people have died. There is one known active case of the virus in Timmins.
The health unit is aware of 5,820 tests being done locally, which is an increase of 49 from the last report. There are 178 tests under investigation.
Today, services such as hair salons and tattoo parlours, malls, patios, places of worship and more are allowed to open up in most areas of the province. The Porcupine Health Unit is one of 24 regions moving into the second phase of reopening.
Social gatherings have also expanded to include a maximum of 10 people.
"It is critical to continue practicing the preventative measures that have allowed us to get here," reads today's update from the health unit.
"Be mindful when considering visiting with others outside your household. If you have symptoms, please stay home. Maintain a physical distance of two metres and wear a mask or face covering when this is challenging; wash your hands, practice cough/sneeze etiquette; do not touch your face; and clean commonly touched surfaces. Avoid close contact with others who are not part of your household. Close contact includes things like hugs, sitting right beside each other and sharing food with others."
In yesterday's COVID-19 update for the city, medical officer of health Dr. Lianne Catton acknowledged the hard work people have put in to go more than a month without a positive test in the region.
"We need to continue our commitment to the public health measures to prevent the spread and continue with reopening in a COVID-safe and COVID-mindful manner. We all play a role in this and it is a shared responsibility and it is imperative that we continue,” she said.
In the PHU region, the rate of testing has been higher than the provincial rate.
Catton said assessment centres have done a good job ensuring testing is being done for people who may have been exposed and asymptomatic people.
“We did see a decrease in people calling for (tests) as the weather improved as the cases decreased and we did see definitely a bit of an increase after the announcement that anyone could call for testing even if they had no symptoms present. There has been an increase with that and we continue to promote it widely,” she said.
Even though there have been nearly 6,000 COVID-19 tests done in the region, that isn't the number of people who have been tested.
“We don’t have those numbers readily available,” said Catton.
She said the vast majority of people are only tested once.
While the health unit has been able to report good news locally for weeks, it is expected that there will be more local cases.
"That is part of the caution moving forward, that we need to act as though — because it likely is — COVID-19 is still circulating within the community, that the risk is still present,” she said.
Moving forward, Catton said the greatest risk is people not following measures to prevent the spread of the disease. One of the key ones is staying home if you're feeling unwell or have symptoms.
"The greatest risk moving forward is that we don’t change our behaviour or don’t continue to change our behaviour and follow these measures moving forward. As we open things up, people are going to be seeing more individuals potentially exposing more individuals and then if we get cases the potential is there for more to be exposed,” she said.
Testing is open to anyone who feels they need to be tested, even if you don't have symptoms. To access testing, call your health care provider or the health unit.
There are COVID-19 assessment centres in Timmins, Cochrane, Iroquois Falls, Kapuskasing, Smooth Rock Falls, Hearst and Hornepayne.
The PHU COVID-19 hotline is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It can be reached at 705-267-1181 or 1-800-461-1818.
