The Brant County Health Unit has confirmed two new positive COVID-19 cases.

They are a local man in his 50s, who recently returned from the United States, and a female nurse in her 40s, who works at Cambridge Memorial Hospital.

The man is in the critical-care unit at Brantford General Hospital, while the nurse is monitoring her symptoms at home.

This brings to three the number of people in Brant-Brantford who have been sickened by the respiratory ailment, which is the subject of a global pandemic alert.

On March 17, the man entered the Brant Community Healthcare System, where he was assessed and sent home to self-isolate, Ryan Spiteri, communications manager for the Brant County Health Unit, said in a news release Monday afternoon. The man’s condition worsened and he was admitted to BGH the night of March 21.

The health unit reports the nurse developed mild symptoms while on the job March 18. She immediately left the hospital. A test confirmed the virus Monday.

“She does not have a history of recent travel and other exposures are being investigated,” said Spiteri, adding that her symptoms continue to be mild.

“BCHU is working to identify any individuals who may have been in close contact with both cases during the period they were symptomatic before self-isolation began. Region of Waterloo Public Health will conduct case management with contacts in their jurisdiction.”

COVID-19 is the name the World Health Organization has given to the novel coronavirus that emerged in China late last year. Symptoms include fever, a dry cough, chest pains, shortness of breath and fatigue. In some case, gastro-intestinal symptoms such as nausea and diarrhea have been reported.

The two latest cases and the local response was the subject of a conference call involving media and Brant-Brantford health-care officials Monday evening.

New developments include prepping the Brantford civic centre as the local assessment venue for suspected cases of COVID-19. Plans are to wind down testing at BGH and divert it to the civic centre.

Dr. Elizabeth Urbantke, Brant’s acting medical officer of health, said local medical officials are testing between 40 and 50 suspected cases a day. At this point, there is no reliable method for projecting the incidence of infection in the community based on the number of known cases, she said.

“Modelling is very difficult because we are so early into the pandemic,” she said. “This modelling is really difficult to do.”

The first case of COVID-19 in Brant-Brantford was confirmed last week. At the time, local health officials said there were 25 “probable” local cases.

Urbantke said confirming test results is taking nearly a week in Ontario. adding that efforts are underway across the province to secure new lab capacity to speed up testing.

David McNeil, CEO and president of the Brant Community Healthcare System, which operates BGH and the Willett urgent-care centre in Paris, said inventories of personal protective equipment for front-line medical workers – rubber gloves, face masks, face shields and the like – are holding up. However, McNeil suggested there is the potential for shortages.

He said there is an adequate local supply of ventilators.

“There is a stockpile available if there is demand,” he said. “We are, of course, securing additional ventilators.”

He said procedures at BGH are being streamlined to create additional beds and resources for new cases of COVID-19.

Along with other communities, the local health-care system is making provisions to meet “surge capacity” with pop-up infirmaries in the event infections outstrip current treatment infrastructure, said McNeil.

Urbantke said health unit instructions for people to maintain a physical distance from each other and to self-isolate are generally being followed.