STEPHEN RICCIO
PONTIAC Sept. 16, 2020
A woman from the Fort Coulonge/Mansfield et Pontefract area self-reported her positive COVID-19 test on Sept. 18.
CHIP 101.9 reported that Marie-Pier Morais, a CISSSO employee, posted to her Facebook that she contracted the virus while working.
THE EQUITY reached out to CISSSO for confirmation, but Patricia Rhéaume, media relations officer, said in an email on Monday that they could not confirm the test.
CISSSO’s online case tracker has listed . . .
RLS Pontiac, the area including the Municipality of Pontiac and MRC Pontiac, at six cases after many months of sitting at five or less.
Should the positive test be independently confirmed, it would be the first offical case in MRC Pontiac.
CISSSO announced measures to address rising COVID-19 testing demand during a press briefing on Sept. 15.
Ann Rondeau, the director of multidisciplinary and community services, said daily call volumes have increased. New phone services are expanding to address COVID-19 questions.
The department plans to allocate more staff in response to the recent influx of calls related to a higher demand for screening tests.
“The delay to receive test results is 72 hours and can also vary up to five days,” Rhéaume explained. “There is currently a lot of traffic for screening.”
The health authority also announced additional testing capacity for 1,000 new appointments per week.
As of Monday afternoon, the Outaouais had 153 active cases (1,146 total, with 959 recovered) and seven hospitalizations, with one person in intensive care.
The number of active cases observed a significant weekly increase, going from 83 last week to 153.
The Municipality of Pontiac continues to be listed as having five or less cases.
With files from Mike Athey













