WINDSOR, ONT. -- Unease has set in with some Chatham-Kent residents after recent COVID-19 figures jumped after a quiet pandemic period.
Sandee Campbell lives in Blenheim where several schools sent students home last week due to possible exposure. It’s also where a church has shut its doors for two weeks because of a COVID positive case, forcing Wednesday’s soup kitchen to close.
“I have not been out since pretty much the beginning of it, maybe a couple of times but at home or for a walk and when I walk, you meet a person, you both sort of dive to the nearest laneway or something so that you’re spread your distance apart,” Campbell said.
Campbell is a retired nurse and worked through SARS and H1N1, she says COVID has her worried.
“I have very mixed emotions about it but I’m very, very worried about it at this time,” she says.
A recent blood donor clinic in Chatham also saw 150 people possibly exposed to the virus.
Chatham-Kent’s medical officer of health Dr. David Colby tells CTV News that one positive case attended the blood donor clinic and so far, public health believes two cases have come as a result.
“I would say things are under control, the number of new cases we’re seeing is dropping substantially compared to the end of last week and the weekend, so I’d say we’re in pretty good shape right now,” Dr. Colby said.
The Chatham-Kent Health Alliance says the hospital is in good shape for blood products at the moment, and doctor Colby says capacity inside Chatham-Kent’s medical facilities is fine, should COVID cases flare again.
“We have lots of capacity here to be able to handle surges if we get another one,” he said.
CTV News reached out to Canadian Blood Services but they did not return requests for interviews.
Meanwhile, Chatham-Kent residents are reminded to keep washing hands, wearing masks and maintain a distance, as Dr. Colby says it is an “ever-changing” situation.
