Lambton County doctor pleads with public to take COVID-19 seriously, as area reports more cases

A Petrolia, Ont. doctor is pleading with the public to follow the advice of health-care officials and take the coronavirus pandemic more seriously.

Dr.Firas Al-Dhaher with the Central Lambton Family Health Team usedYouTube to get out an important plea to his community.

"We are now evolving into a very serious situation, which it is true across the country. It is now trueforLambton County," said Al-Dhaher.

As of Friday morning, seven people hadtested positive for COVID-19 in Sarnia-Lambton;four of those patients are currently in the intensive care unit at BluewaterHealth.

"We are anticipating that more people have been exposed and more people are going to be sick," said Al-Dhaher. "The next two weeks are going to be critical. We could be on the same trajectory as some of the other crisis spots in the world."

Watch Dr.Firas Al-Dhaher's plea to the community:

Al-Dhaherasks the public not to panic, but to follow the guidance and suggestions of health care authorities.

"We have an incredible health care system with physicians who absolutely care and are working around the clock," said Al-Dhaher.

"While our systemsare stressed and our resources are limited, we are trying our very hardest ... our work is not done yet."