KFL&A Public Health clarifies COVID-19 data from Ministry of Health

According to Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington (KFL&A) Public Health, a new case of COVID-19 reported by the Ontario Ministry of Health in the KFL&A region is, in fact, not within the region.

On Friday, May 22, 2020, The Ministry of Health listed a new case of COVID-19 for the region in their online data. That data indicates that a female in her 20s from the KFL&A region contracted the virus, though information on how she contacted it remains pending.

When asked to speak to the case and how it was possibly contracted, Dr. Kieran Moore, Medical Officer of Health for KFL&A Public Health, explained that the patient and case are actually in the Ottawa region.

“We have received a referral of this positive test from the lab and liaised with this individual. Once we contacted the individual, we discovered that they live in Ottawa, were tested in Ottawa, work in Ottawa and permanently moved to Ottawa a number of months ago,” Moore said in a statement.

“Their exposure is clearly documented to be in Ottawa,” he continued. “Even though the case is listed on the Government of Ontario website as being associated with KFL&A Public Health, we have informed the laboratory that the person’s address has moved and will ensure the address correction takes place.”

As such, Kingstonist has update the COVID-19 Quick Reference Guide to reflect the numbers as reported by KFL&A Public Health. This means that, as of Friday, May 22, 2020, only one new case of COVID-19 has been reported in the past seven days, bringing the total number of known cases in the region to 62, 61 of which are resolved, according to Public Health.