Second COVID-19 death in KFL&A amid highest active case count

The KFL&A region has recorded its second COVID-19 death as Ontario enters the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and as the region itself enters uncharted territory.

The most recent local death as a result of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is a woman in her 80s who, according to public health records, acquired it through a close contact. She had been diagnosed with COVID-19 on Mar. 29, 2021, according to provincial health records.

There are currently two other local patients in hospital after contracting the virus, according to KFL&A Public Health, with 20 patients in total being treated for COVID-19 at local hospitals, according to the Kingston Health Sciences Centre.

There are currently 135 active cases in this region, the most at one time since the pandemic began. The previous highest number of active COVID-19 cases, prior to the current wave, was 112, on Dec. 16, 2020.

Queen’s University also set a new record high for COVID-19 cases last week, reporting 67 new cases, or just under half of all new regional cases.

As far as vaccination efforts go locally, according to KFL&A Public Health, 29.9 per cent of local residents have received their first dose of a vaccine while only 1.6 per cent have received their second shot.