Demonstration leads to COVID-19 exposure warning

nnCORNWALL – If you attended the September 4 demonstration in front of the Cornwall Community Hospital, the Eastern Ontario Health Unit is advising to monitor for signs of COVID-19.nnThe demonstration, which was against COVID-19 vaccine mandates, took place around 1 p.m. The health unit released an advisory today (September 7) that a person who was diagnosed with an active COVID-19 infection was present at the CCH demonstration.nnThe EOHU said it recommends anyone who attended the demonstration should monitor for symptoms for the next 10 days. If anyone develops symptoms, they should self-isolate and get tested for COVID-19 right away.nnThose attending the demonstration were protesting the adoption of a COVID-19 Enhanced Certificate or Passport system by the Ontario government. The province announced new screening system last week.nnThe notice from the EOHU comes as COVID-19 cases continue to increase in the region. As of its September 7 update, there are 62 active infections in the region. This is an increase of 31 cases since Friday. No update was posted on Labour Day. A majority of the new cases are from either close contacts or travel related.nnThree new cases were added to South Dundas, increasing the total to five active cases. There are 12 cases in Cornwall, four in South Stormont, one in North Stormont, and there are no cases currently active in North Dundas.nnThe seven-day rolling average of new cases is 22.9 per cent and the region’s reproduction rate is 1.12. This means every 100 infections will create 112 secondary infections, a sign that community spread is increasing in the region. There are three people hospitalized and one in ICU.nnThere have been 4,926 COVID-19 infections in the region since the pandemic began. This accounts for 2.4 per cent of the population of the EOHU region including SDG Counties, the City of Cornwall, Prescott-Russell, and the northern portion of Akwesasne.