GEORGIAN BAY SENIOR AMONG 41 CASES IN SIMCOE-MUSKOKA
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — So the province posted this morning that the region had 15 COVID cases today.
This afternoon the health unit shows its 41 — including a man in Georgian Bay.
We’ve been here before over numbers, Ontario saying one thing and the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) correcting those hours later.
Often the numbers are reversed, more of one, less of the other.
Were it six of one and half a dozen of other we’d have this less to quibble over.
A lot of it comes down to “updates” and the fluidity of confirming and reporting cases
It’s a road too well travelled, full of pot holes.
Tell that to Mr. Transmission.
Tell that to that Muskoka man who had close contact Monday and was positively reported the next day — March 15.
He was variously identified as being between 65 and 79.
Too old to get the AstraZeneca vaccine and too young to get Pfizer.
Oh, were the Ides of March the turning point of this pandemic.
One step forward two steps back it too often feels these days.
Red, grey, red ….
Which colour comes next? Green?
Oh, we’ve been there — yes, yesterday.
SMDHU (forthwith known as SMHU) says they are making up numbers (what?) after a lab error reported this week left them to call 42 people and tell them “No. You don’t have COVID. So sorry.”
COVID is indeed a numbers game and the numbers runners have Canadains running scared.
That ruminating rant aside, good ol’ reliable Ontario reported 1,553 cases today and 15 deaths, the same number as they told us there were cases in Simcoe-Muskoka this morning.
Toronto dropped to 404.
Meanwhile, Peel at 294 and York at 176 were up — the latter considerably.
North Bay-Parry Sound continues with a zero-sum game today in the homeland of Bobby Orr.
Sudbury had two dozen cases, Thunder Bay six more than that. In between them Algoma reported 20.
On a positive note, 2,559 vaccines were administered Wednesday.
And this week 1,300 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine have been given to those 60-64 years by four Family Health Teams in Simcoe Muskoka.
HEALTH UNIT HIGHLIGHTS:
- 260 UK variants have been detected, 7 related to Brazil, and 1 tied to South Africa.
- And an additional 618 cases have screened positive awaiting confirmatory testing for VOCs
- Over 61,388 Pfizer doses have been injected, 2,559 yesterday.
- That includes more than 16,500 people who’ve had two doses.
- More than 3,000 (or 94%) long-term care residents and over 3,400 (or 95%) retirement home residents have received their first dose.
- 1,300 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine have also been administered to adults 60-64 years by four Family Health Teams in Simcoe Muskoka.
- There have been 116 new cases reported to the health unit for the current week.
IN OTHER COVID NEWS …
- Tory guns are ablazin’ after the Toronto Star’s Bruce Arthur dared criticize the vaccine rollout by retiring retired general Rick Hillier. It seems Conservatives took offence to an opinion piece that read: “It was said the general had tired of the criticism. Maybe it’s a good thing Canada doesn’t fight in actual wars.” A war of words erupted after, claiming the columnist was attacking the military.
- U.S. President Joe Biden said this afternoon that 2.5 million Americans a day are now being vaccinated. By tomorrow he says 100 million will be vaccinated.
- Americans to ship 1.5 million AstraZeneca vaccines to Canada and 2.5 million to Mexico. The U.S. has not approved AstraZeneca for use in its country. The one Canadians are getting is from India.
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