4 MUSKOKA CASES THURSDAY AMONG 36 OR 44 IN SIMCOE-MUSKOKA

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — At least three dozen new COVID cases  today include 4 more from Muskoka.

The health unit reports 36 cases (province says 44) bringing their total to 6,362 with 522 active cases.

Among them are:

  • Bracebridge man, 35-44, under investigation first reported Feb. 24 and first episode Feb. 23
  • Muskoka Lakes woman, no age, with close contact Feb. 24/Feb. 20
  • Muskoka Lakes woman, 45-64, close contact, Feb. 24/Feb. 19
  • Huntsville woman, 18-34, outbreak related, Feb. 6/Feb. 6

And a previous Huntsville case has been moved to another health unit.

There was also 1 more death in Simcoe, the 185 person to die there.

Twenty are in hospital including one new case since yesterday.

North Bay Parry Sound had no cases again today, according o the province.

Province-wide, Ontario reports 1,038 case and 23 deaths; Toronto 339 cases, Peel 204 and York 106.

Quebec reports 858 cases, 16 deaths; Newfoundland and Labrador 10 cases; Manitoba 70 and 1 death.

HEALTH UNIT HIGHLIGHTS:

  • To date 182 local cases have been tested positive for the COVID-19 variant of concern UK B.1.1.7 and an additional 276 cases have screened positive (awaiting confirmatory testing)
  • Over 37,208 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Simcoe Muskoka (1,088) yesterday.
  • This includes more than 15,000 individuals who have received both of the required doses of the vaccine. In addition, 2,944 (92%) long-term care residents and 3,228 (89%) retirement home residents have received their first dose.
  • There have been 139 new cases reported to the health unit for the current week, 273 last week and 211 the week before.

IN OTHER COVID NEWS …

  • Peel police have charged 49 people at Pearson airport for COVID violations in February. Fines have been $880 as new fly-in rules are in place.
  • Police also won’t charge hotel quarantine violators unless they warrant criminal charges.
  • In Europe new COVID cases are half what they were weeks ago, says WHO.
  • In U.S. nursing homes seeing steeper declines than general public.
  • Rich, powerful in South America jumping vaccine queues, corruption scandals reveal.
  • No surprise, but infections among health care worker have tripled since the summer, according to a study by the Canadian Institute for Health Information. However, they still trail the general public.
Here’s an interesting S-M chart from Feb. 24 on Muskoka COVID cases per month.
Here’s a snapshot of where Simcoe-Muskoka sits today, Thursday Feb. 25.
Shielding yourself from possible exposure to the coronavirus is still the smart thing to do even as vaccines are on their way now.

Email mark@muskokatoday.com or news@muskokatoday.com

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