Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit officials say yesterday, March 25, an employee of a Chatham-Kent workplace was reported to be positive for COVID-19.

The workplace, which has not been identified by the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit, notified their staff immediately and closed the building,

CK Public Health has received a number of questions about why this case was not made public and why the number of local cases was not adjusted.

“The employee is not a resident of Chatham-Kent, and therefore, the case is not reflected in our local numbers,” stated Dr. David Colby, Chatham-Kent’s Medical Office of Health, in a media release.

In Ontario, confirmed positive test results are sent to the local health unit where the individual lives, CK Public Health officials say.

“When we are notified about a positive test result, we immediately begin the contact tracing process for that case, making sure that anyone in Chatham-Kent who has come into close contact with the individual is notified and directed to self-isolate for 14 days,” stated Colby.

“Any time a Chatham-Kent resident tests positive for COVID-19, that information is shared with the public by CK Public Health.”

Caress Lee Carpenter, public relations officer for the CK Public Health Unit, said once contact tracing begins, Ck Public Health begins the process of informing the community.

“At this point, with total confirmed cases still low, we are able to develop a media release to accompany each confirmed case,” Lee Carpenter stated.

“The media release is shared following our usual processes. The information is shared widely on each of our of social media platforms, and immediate updates are made to our CK Public Health COVID-19 webpage.”

Anyone with additional questions related to COVID-19 are asked to call the intake line at 519-355-1071 ext. 1900 or email covid19@chatham-kent.ca.

The World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared COVID-19 as a pandemic on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. Details, here.

For a list of local cancellations, postponement and further updates, click here.