3 MUSKOKA CASES AS ONLY 258 KIDS 12-17 IN MUSKOKA VACCINATED
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Only 258 kids in Muskoka, aged 12-17, have been vaccinated.
The health unit says — in response to an enquiry by MuskokaTODAY.com — that that’s 7.5 per cent of the 3,445 eligible youth in the district as of yesterday, the same day Premier Doug Ford was criticized for saying schools aren’t safe enough to continue and won’t likely be safe till September.
By comparison, 20.7 per cent of kids in Simcoe, in the same age group, have had their first shot. That’s 7,343 students among 35,540 eligible.
The health unit notes of those there are 48 youth who have been identified as living in the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, but who couldn’t be assigned to a municipality or county.
Kids 12-17 were allowed to book vaccine appointments May 23.
This as children, parents, families and caregivers deal with the fallout from Ontario’s decision not to reopen schools the final weeks of school.
And as 3 more Muskoka residents have tested positive for COVID-19 among 32 cases across the region.
The three Muskoka cases being reported for June, 2 with first episodes June, 1 are:
- Bracebridge man, 18-34, who is under investigation
- Gravenhurst woman, 65-79, with close contact
- Gravenhurst man, 65-79, with close contact
As heated debate rages about whether schools should have reopened, vaccinations across SMDHU are now up to 54.8 per cent or 331,491 of residents. And 6.7 per cent or 40,474 are fully vaccinated.
This as the health unit is also reporting 28 new variants of concern today, bring the current total of VOCs to 193, which Ford cited as part of the reason for keeping kids home — even as the province’s stay-at-home ordered ended Tuesday.
Provincially, there were 870 cases and 10 deaths, up from yesterday when there were 733 and 25 deaths.
Toronto, too, was up to 225 (173), as was Peel at 167 (134), while York fell to 28 (69).
North Bay-Parry Sound doubled its cases to 4 from 2.
HEALTH UNIT HIGHLIGHTS:
- 11,985 cases to date
- 84 this week, 207 last week, which was 32% lower than 303 cases the week before.
- 1 death in June, 18 in May, 25 in April, 12 in March
- 3,773 Alpha (UK) cases, 114 Gamma (Brazil), 22 Beta (South Africa), 10 Delta (India)
- 730 cases await confirmation of variant
- 366,650+ vaccines administered in Simcoe Muskoka
- 331,450+ residents have received their first dose of vaccine, which represents about 55% of the population.
IN OTHER COVID NEWS …
- Only 2-3 per cent of Japanese have been vaccinated ahead of next month’s Tokyo Olympics.
- So far, Canada has vaccinated 58 per cent of the total population with at least one dose, putting the country just behind Israel, which has plateaued at around 63 per cent of its population, and roughly neck-and-neck with the U.K.
- The U.S. is committing 75 per cent of its unused vaccines to COVAX, the global distribution system set up by the UN to help the world’s poorest countries. Its first shipment is 25 million doses. Canada previously received 1.5 million AstraZeneca vaccines through the same program.
- Michigan passes bill to prevent vaccine passports of which there are no plans to create.
- The Delta variant (India) has overtaken the Alpha VOC (UK) as the primary variant of concern in Britain.
- Air travellers will find it cheaper to book into a Canadian government recommended hotel for the first three of 14 days when they return home, because if they don’t they face up to a new $5,000 fine for refusing. The current fine is $3,000. Ottawa has been cracking down of late, with a lot more spot checks at homes insisting on speaking to people directly — and not on cellphones.
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