Brampton no longer considered ‘hot spot’ for COVID-19

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Published July 29, 2020 at 4:24 pm

Back in May, Premier Doug Ford revealed that the City of Brampton was a COVID-19 ‘hot spot’ due to the high number of active cases in specific areas.

Back in May, Premier Doug Ford revealed that the City of Brampton was a COVID-19 ‘hot spot’ due to the high number of active cases in specific areas.

In a conference on May 25, Ford stated that he spoke to Mayor Patrick Brown about the high number of COVID-19 cases, but did not disclose the specific area.

According to Dr. Lawrence Loh, Interim Chief Medical Officer of Health with the Region of Peel, the investigation into the data for Brampton and the region was underway as of May 27.

A heat map highlighting areas in Brampton with high numbers of positive COVID-19 cases was released after a few days. 

Brown later shared that South Fletchers was among the areas in Brampton that was an example of where they had seen more positive cases.

In a conference today (July 29), Mayor Patrick Brown announced that the Region of Peel would be moving into Stage 3 this Friday, July 31, as part of the province’s reopening plan. 

When asked about Brampton’s previously reported ‘hot spots,’ Brown stated that the City is no longer considered one for COVID-19 due to the decline in active cases.

“I wouldn’t consider Brampton a ‘hot spot’ anymore given the fact that our case counts are in single digits,” said Brown, adding that the progress everyone has made has been through wearing a mask and washing their hands.

“Everyone being careful is obviously working because we’ve seen our case counts so dramatically down.”

Acknowledging that many residents may still have concerns relating to Brampton’s previously reported ‘hot spots,’ Dr. Lawrence Loh further explained that the disease tends to resolve typically after 10 to 14 days, which is why they always have a 14-day incubation period as an isolation window.

“Many of the cases that were being reported during that time where we were monitoring the community have resolved,” confirmed Dr. Loh.

“As our new cases have continued to decline, we’re starting to see a move away from those places now.”

Dr. Loh concluded by issuing a reminder that COVID-19 could still circulate anywhere in the community.

“It’s important to make sure that everyone is still taking precautions wherever we might go,” he said.

 

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