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Rumours of 300 positive COVID-19 tests in Orillia untrue: Official

A rumour posted on social media suggested there were hundreds of people tested in Orillia who were positive for COVID-19 but lived out of area; It's false, says top doc
2020-03-19 Orillia COVID-19 assessment clinic 1
A nurse speaks with a visitor at the COVID-19 assessment clinic set up at Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital. Nathan Taylor/OrilliaMatters File Photo

The medical officer of health for Simcoe Muskoka quelled rampant rumours there were hundreds of positive results out of a COVID-19 assessment centre at Orillia’s hospital.

“It’s not true,” said Dr. Charles Gardner during a media briefing on June 4.

He said both Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital and the COVID-19 assessment centre at the hospital have confirmed while testing is up, there were not several hundred positive test results.

“We’ve only had two positive tests from Orillia in recent weeks,” noted Gardner. “That should be the statistic people should keep in mind rather than the rumour that has been circulating.”

Gardner said last week Orillia’s assessment centre completed 557 tests and the week before it completed 171 tests.

In one instance, someone on social media suggested there were 300 positive test results from Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital last week and those cases were not listed by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit because they were all individuals who lived outside of the region.

Dr. Gardner has confirmed there have been 52 people test positive within the entire region (not just Orillia) and then leave the region to recover outside of it. Those 52 cases are not included in the Simcoe Muskoka Health Unit case list, but were reported to the health units where the individuals are or were recovering.

COVID-19 is a reportable disease in Ontario, which means the provincial public health legislation requires all lab-confirmed cases be reported to a public health unit and to Public Health Ontario.


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Erika Engel

About the Author: Erika Engel

Erika regularly covers all things news in Collingwood as a reporter and editor. She has 15 years of experience as a local journalist
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