News COVID-19 outbreak declared in Porcupine Health Unit office in Hearst SHARE ON: Bob McIntyre, staff Wednesday, Oct. 28th, 2020 (flickr.com) COVID-19 has hit close to home for the Porcupine Health Unit. Two employees in its Hearst office have tested positive and are in self-isolation. The two cases have been medically linked, so an outbreak has been declared. The office is closed, and staff members are working from home. A couple of hours before reporting the outbreak, the health unit reported a single case in the Hearst-Hornepayne area, bringing the count to 96. It’s not clear whether the two PHU employees are already included in that, or if they bump it up to 98.