COVID-19 Distancing orders continue as Outaouais cases tick upwards

CALEB NICKERSON
PONTIAC May 18, 2020 
On May 13, local health authority CISSSO announced that they would be expanding their designated COVID-19 area at the Hull Hospital with an additional unit, in order to separate intensive care patients from less critical cases. 
In a press release, CISSSO stated that the additional space would allow them to be prepared in the event of a serious uptick in cases. 
Despite travel restrictions being lifted in the region last week, public health authorities are warning the public to abstain from non-essential travel, distance themselves from others whenever possible and in instances where close contact is unavoidable, to wear a mask. 
MRC Pontiac issued a press release on May 15 requesting that all seasonal and permanent residents respect the guidelines, in light of the Victoria Day long weekend. The release urged those visiting their secondary residences to pack what they needed for their stay, from gasoline to alcohol, and to avoid gatherings of any kind.
On May 15, CISSSO announced the closure of the hot zone at CHSLD de la Petite-Nation in Saint-André-Avellin, which had endured an outbreak recently, noting that the seven infected patients at the facility have recovered. Before returning to their regular wards, each patient was required to receive two consecutive negative tests. 
As of Monday, the Outaouais has 135 active cases (+ 7 from last week), made up of 404 total cases (+ 57 from last week), with 258 recovered (+ 48 from last week). There are 10 patients hospitalized at the designated COVID-19 ward at the Hull Hospital, none of which are currently in intensive care. So far, there have been 11 deaths in the region, up from eight this time last week
In addition, 72 CISSSO employees have been affected, (+ 8 from last week). The Pontiac region has had “five or less” confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic, but since the data has been available for individual municipalities, the cases have only been recorded in the Municipality of Pontiac (which is a part of the Pontiac’s health care sector). 
Up to date information on the region’s cases can be found here: https://cisss-outaouais.gouv.qc.ca/language/en/18907-2/
Across the province as of May 18, there was a total of 43,627 confirmed cases (+ 5,158 from last week) with 1,771 hospitalizations (-67 from last week) and 3,596  deaths (+ 583 from last week).