A positive COVID-19 case in the Porcupine Health Unit (PHU) region is a potential variant of concern (VOC).
In a news release, PHU medical officer of health Dr. Lianne Catton said a confirmed case has screened positive for a possible variant.
The person is linked to the outbreak at Extendicare Kapusksasing.
"Further testing is needed to confirm the screen, and identify the variant or mutation," reads the news release.
The outbreak was declared at the 61-bed long-term care facility in Kapuskasing Jan. 7.
There are currently 31 residents and 15 staff who with active cases, according to the facility's daily update Eleven residents have died.
The first COVID-19 variant in Northern Ontario was confirmed today.
It is a person in the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit area. Further testing is required to identify the strain.
The Sudbury-area health unit had reported a possible COVID variant at the end of January. As of this morning, Public Health Ontario has not reported any confirmed cases from that district.
In this morning's report, Public Health Ontario reported 153 variant cases. One is the South African strain and 152 are for B.1.1.7, which is the one associated with the United Kingdom.
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit has the most confirmed cases of the UK variant in the province, with 89 being confirmed to date.
As of yesterday, all positive COVID-19 tests are now being screened for variant strains.
Today, four new cases of the virus were reported in the Porcupine Health Unit area.
To date, there have been 289 confirmed cases of the virus in the region. Of those, 200 are recovered and 20 people have died. There are 69 known active cases.
There are COVID-19 assessment centres in Timmins, Cochrane, Iroquois Falls, Kapuskasing, Smooth Rock Falls, Hearst, and Hornepayne.
The Porcupine Health Unit COVID-19 information line can be reached at 705-267-1181 or 1-800-461-1818.
