Despite increased testing, there have been no new cases of COVID-19 reported in Lambton today. But two more people have died.

Antonietta Palombo, 73, of Sarnia is one of those people. Antonietta, who came to Sarnia in 1965 from Italy, and her husband Franco owned and operated Franco’s Hair Studio for the past 50 years. Her obituary says she was “always a people person and smiling with everyone…and was very passionate about their business.”

Lambton’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Sudit Ranade says 45 people have now recovered from the virus.

Meantime public health and Bluewater Health along with Lambton EMS’s Paramedicine workers have begun testing every patient and worker at Lambton’s long-term care homes.

Ranade says it is “unclear how valuable the test is in people who don’t have symptoms” of the virus but that the testing will give public health a “better clinical and population level of the disease.”

But he cautions against a “general sigh of relief” if the first round of tests comes back negative.

“This will give us a baseline of the real picture of the people who are infected…the test is much more effective on people with symptoms. In a couple of days, those people who were tested may show symptoms and they would have to be tested again.”

There are 10 retirement residences and 10 long term care homes in Lambton. Testing
began in Landmark Village and Lambton Meadowview Villa as these two homes are currently in COVID-19 outbreak. Staff and residents are being tested.

Ranade says it is “difficult to say” whether testing all the residents in the homes with COVID-19 immediately would have saved lives.

The remaining locations will be tested in a scheduled manner over the next few days.