press release

New Surveillance Report Allows for Additional Geographic Support

Point Edward, ON – Lambton Public Health is pleased to announce the expansion of the Lambton COVID-19 surveillance report. As of October 19th, 2020, Lambton Public Health will report the locations of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Lambton County, across five “reporting regions,” captured by the COVID-19 Case Map.

The development of a tool that maps addresses to reporting regions was supported by the County of Lambton’s Information Technology department in consultation with a team from Lambton Public Health responsible for surveillance and epidemiology support.

“This new tool allows the public to access additional information about COVID-19 cases in their region while keeping the personal health information of those individuals private,” says Siobhan Churchill, Epidemiologist with Lambton Public Health. “This is an important tool for Lambton County, as it allows the public to visualize how case rates vary across our urban and rural regions, accounting for the fact that some regions have more residents than others.”

The COVID-19 case map shows where confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Lambton County were living at the time of illness. It does not indicate where cases were exposed to COVID-19, and cannot be used to draw conclusions about personal risk.

The report shows the number and rate per 100,000 of COVID-19 cases by reporting region. Users can choose to view case counts and rates based on the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic, or the number of cases in the past month.

If users are unsure which reporting region they live in, they can look for their municipality in the table below the map, or follow the written directions to look up their dissemination area and corresponding reporting region.

Lambton residents are reminded to continue to practice good public health safety measures. Limit social interactions, practice physical distancing, wear a mask when you cannot or are required to do so, wash your hands frequently, and please stay home if you are sick. We all have a role to play at reducing COVID-19 in our community. We can get through this together, because we are stronger, together.

To learn more about how Lambton Public Health manages COVID-19 reporting or about the new surveillance tool visit LambtonPublicHealth.ca, or call Lambton Public Health at 519-383-8331 or toll free 1-800-667-1839.

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Please contact:

LPH-media-inquiries@county-lambton.on.ca