HUNTSVILLE COVID CASE AS LOCKDOWN CONTINUES TO DAY AFTER FAMILY DAY

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — You’re under stay-at-home orders for at least another week — unless you went back to school today.

So says the province, as only parts of eastern Ontario will ease up restrictions on Wednesday, and Toronto, Peel and York will have to wait until to Feb. 22.

Simcoe and Muskoka will emerge from emergency orders Tuesday Feb. 16, due to the extra day off Monday for the Family Day holiday.

This as local public health today reported 110 COVID cases for the past three days.

Among them is a Huntsville man, aged 65-79, reported for Friday and who had a first detected episode of the virus Jan. 25.

Provincially, 1,265 cases were reported by Public Health Ontario (PHO) with 33 deaths.

The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) reported 24 cases to start the week Sunday.

However, PHO posted 43 cases for yesterday, Feb. 7, with 43 cases Saturday and 35 Friday for a weekend total of 121.

SMDHU reports today on its website 274 cases last week and 305 the week before — a 10 per cent drop.

Toronto reported 421 cases (13 deaths) and Peel 256 cases, York 130 cases.

Meanwhile, Quebec had another more positive report with 853 cases and 15 deaths.

And Manitoba had 53 cases and 4 deaths.

HEALTH UNIT HIGHLIGHTS:

  • To date 128 local cases have been tested positive for the COVID-19 variant of concern UK B.1.1.7 and an additional 59 cases have screened positive (awaiting confirmatory testing)
  • Nearly 22,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Simcoe Muskoka, mainly to health care workers in local hospitals, long-term care and retirement homes. This includes over 5,700 individuals that have received both of the required doses of the vaccine. In addition, 2867 (or 89%) long-term care residents and 2375 (or 65%) retirement home residents have received their first dose.
  • In the month of January 2021, 88 Simcoe Muskoka residents died from COVID-19, over four times higher than the number of deaths in December 2020 (18). There were 11 COVID-19 related deaths in the first week of February.

IN OTHER COVID NEWS …

  • The NDP MPP for the Extendicare LTC home in Kapuskasing where 13 people have died is calling for outside help to come run it.
  • Quebec, Alberta, Nova Scotia are lifting some restrictions today. Alberta is allowing indoor dining.
  • Republican Ron Wright of Texas has died of COVID.
  • Canada to get more vaccines starting next weeks say the feds.
Enjoying the outdoors will be a little easier next week for Andi and Duke as Ontario commences with lifting some COVID restrictions in Muskoka.

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

Celebrating 26 YEARS of ‘Local Online Journalism’

Follow us at Twitter @muskokatoday & on Facebook at mclairmont1

Leave your comments at end of story. Or write a letter to the Editor at news@muskokatoday.com

And subscribe for $25 by e-transferring to news@muskokatoday.com

Or online at https://muskokatoday.com/subscriptions