Peterborough had an additional case of COVID-19 as of Wednesday, bringing the total of confirmed cases to two.

The second person confirmed to have the illness was a close contact of the first case, said medical officer of health Dr. Rosana Salvaterra in a press briefing on Wednesday.

No more details were available about the second case, except that the person was tested at Peterborough Public Health (PPH) and is in self-isolation.

Ontario reported 212 COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday afternoon, but that did not include the second case in Peterborough.

People who were close contacts of this second person will be identified. Those among them who have symptoms will likely tested for the virus as early as Wednesday afternoon, Salvaterra said.

"Contacts go to the head of the list (for testing)," she said.

Peterborough's first case was found on March 14; a 30-year-old man began feeling ill after returning from travels in Spain and Portugal.

The man works at home and didn't go out much while ill, Salvaterra said earlier this week. The health had identified 12 close contacts, and this second case was among them.

Now the close contacts of the second case will be identified and tested if they have symptoms.

Salvaterra said travellers who develop symptoms such as a fever or cough within 14 days of travelling outside Canada, or anyone with symptoms who's been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19, should call the health unit.

Travellers should stay home for 14 days after coming home from the U.S. or abroad, she said - that's the incubation period for COVID-19.

Meanwhile not everyone with symptoms are being tested, she said, because of a worldwide lack of swabs and because of a lack of lab capacity in Ontario to analyze the tests.

Salvaterra said the test analysis is a laborious process that is taking place at Public Health Ontario labs in locations such as Toronto, and in select hospitals (although not at Peterborough Regional Health Centre).

Meanwhile the provincial government is "ramping up" the capacity of Public Health Ontairo to analyze more tests (they are currently analyzing 1,500 daily). Salvaterra also said more and more hospitals and being "enabled" to do analysis on the spot.

In the meantime she said restaurants promptly switched their services to takeout only in Peterborough on Tuesday, and bars closed (as required after Ontario called a state of emergency).

The health unit did not have to issue any orders to any bar or restaurant to close or switch to takeout, she said.

On Wednesday Peterborough Transit became free for passengers and no more parking tickets were being issued downtown.

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joelle.kovach

@peterboroughdaily.com