24 people in Hamilton under investigation for COVID-19, public health to share stats publicly

Public health officials say 22 people in Hamilton have tested negative for COVID-19 and another 24 are still under investigation.

Those numbers are as of 9 a.m. Monday.

To date, there have been no confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in Hamilton. Public health is stressing that the risk remains low.

The city is also planning to start posting and regularly updating numbers related to COVID-19 on its website starting Tuesday evening.

That strategy mirrors the approach of the provincial government, which has been sharing statistics online and updating them every day at 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

On Tuesday afternoon the province reported that 2,599 people have tested negative for coronavirus so far.

Another 122 — which conceivably include the 24 in Hamilton — are still under investigation.

There were 31 confirmed cases in Ontario, and five cases have been resolved.

Dr. Bart Harvey, associate medical officer of health for Hamilton, said the decision to share local numbers came after officials saw the public reaction to the news a McMaster student was being tested for COVID-19. That student's test ultimately came back negative.

"I think this allows an opportunity for the community to be a little better-informed," he explained.

Hamilton health officials say they've "fully activated" their incident management system, "which is used to focus attention and resources on urgent issues."

"As part of our emergency preparedness planning, we're working together with Hamilton Paramedic Services, hospitals, primary care providers, Ontario Ministry of Health colleagues, and academic institutions," the website reads.

"This includes implementing a plan to monitor, detect, and if needed, contain and prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus."

Harvey said hearing about multiple people undergoing testing shouldn't be something that causes alarm in the community because it shows officials are keeping a close eye on the issue.

"One of the key strategies in being able to contain this virus is being able to identify individuals that may be infected with this virus. The sooner we identify them the sooner we can make sure they're isolated," he said.

"We're only going to detect that first person that's infected with the virus by testing."

With March break around the corner Harvey said it's important residents pay close attention to travel advisories.

Anyone who visits China, Iran and Italy are advised to stay home for 14 days once they return and to contact public healthy by calling 905-546-2424 ext.7970, within 24 hours of arriving in Canada.