CHATHAM, ONT. -- It’s a community that has two people recently diagnosed with COVID-19, but that didn’t spark a rush to a newly opened assessment centre.

“It surprises me a little bit, but it also tells me that we’ve done some effective messaging,” says Chatham-Kent Health Alliance President and CEO Lori Marshall, “and that people are really reaching out for other alternatives, virtual alternatives, rather than coming directly to the centre first.”

The Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) opened the COVID-19 Assessment Centre at 47 Emma St. in Chatham on Thursday morning.

“It’s important for the public to know that we’re here for them. And that we’re putting in place everything that we need to provide a safe place for patients to come and a safe work environment for the physicians and staff,“ Marshall added.

The clinic is being run in partnership with the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit.

CK Public Health was notified on Wednesday by the Ontario Public Health Laboratory of a second positive case in the region.

The individual is an 81-year-old woman who had recently travelled to the United States.

The first reported case was a 52-year-old Chatham resident who contracted the illness during travel while on a cruise in the Caribbean.

Both individuals are in isolation, the woman in hospital and the man at home.

Despite those confirmed cases, there were no lineups as the COVID-19 Assessment Centre opened. During the lunch hour less than a half-dozen people were seen going through the door.

A woman leaving the assessment centre who didn’t want to be identified believes very strongly that she has come in contact with the virus.

Her husband works with people who travelled overseas and one of them has been confirmed to have COVID-19. She has since experienced respiratory issues.

As is the practice at other centres, she was sent to her car to wait for a text. That text would bring her back in for a more thorough secondary screening.

But public health officials continue to stress, these locations are only for assessment, not for testing.

Still, Marshall says they serve a valuable role in containing the virus, “The community spread is the thing that we really are, very much, trying to prevent. We’re really promoting social distancing. That will be the thing that makes a huge difference for everyone.“

Hours of operation for the Chatham-Kent Assessment Centre will be between 9 a.m to 5 p.m., seven days a week with the potential to expand based on need.