St. Clair County, MI — Lambton County, Ontario
Confirmed COVID-19 cases as of May 22nd at 9 AM are as follows:
- State of Michigan: 53,510 confirmed cases; 5,129 deaths
- St. Clair County: 422 confirmed cases; 33 deaths
- Ontario: 24,187 confirmed cases; 1,993 deaths
- Sarnia-Lambton: 243 confirmed cases; 19 deaths
Confirmed Cases in St. Clair County rose by 28 last week, and the county suffered five additional deaths. There are currently 80 active cases of COVID-19 reported in St. Clair County, and 3% of all hospital beds are being used for COVID-19 patients.
Dr. Annette Mercatante, Medical Health Officer of the St. Clair County Health Department, said that community transmission of COVID-19 in St. Clair County is currently at a stable level. As we begin the reopening of businesses next week, she is encouraged by the effort being made by local businesses and community leaders to make workplaces as safe as possible for both employees and customers. These efforts reduce the risk for transmission of COVID-19, but they do not eliminate the possibility of contracting the virus. The best way to protect yourself and others continues to be through social distancing, proper hygiene, and wearing a mask in enclosed spaces.
The St. Clair County Health Department created a new digital dashboard (available <HERE>) for more detailed reports of COVID-19 cases, that dashboard breaks down data into several segments such as confirmed and probable cases, hospitalizations, and recovered cases.
Cases in Sarnia rose by 30 since last week, and the county suffered 2 additional deaths. There are currently 3 outbreaks reported in long term care facilities in Lambton County, and 62% of the deaths reported in Ontario were of residents in long-term care facilities.
The Ontario government is quickly moving forward with innovative research to prevent, detect, and treat COVID-19. These projects, part of the government’s $20 million Ontario COVID-19 Rapid Research Fund, focus on areas of research such as vaccine development, diagnostics, drug trials and development, and social sciences. Additionally, Ontario is leading the country with 22 clinical trials investigating COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.
*** It is important to note that WGRT is continuing to report confirmed cases from each area, not total cases which are a combination of confirmed and probable cases. We have chosen to approach the data this way to simplify our reports and to create uniformity in the numbers we are reporting for each region, St.Clair County, Lambton County, Michigan, and Ontario.
Please continue to rely on reputable sources for information on COVID-19:
- Centers for Disease Control: cdc.gov/coronavirus
- State of Michigan: Michigan.gov/coronavirus or Info Hotline 1-888-535-6136 Daily 8:00 am – 5:00 pm or email questions to COVID19@michigan.gov
- St. Clair County Health Department: COVID-19 Info Hotline (810) 966-4163 Mon – Fri, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm or email questions to covid19@stclaircounty.org
- St. Clair County Community Mental Health COVID-19 Support Line (810) 985-8900, available Monday-Friday, 8:30am – 4:30pm
- Lambton Public Health: https://lambtonpublichealth.ca/2019-novel-coronavirus/
- City of Sarnia COVID-19 Hotline: 1-877-4-SARNIA (1-877-472-7642)
Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand
