3 MUSKOKA CASES AS ONTARIO BEGINS REOPENING EARLY ON FRIDAY
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Three weekend Muskoka COVID cases come as the province plans to reopen the economy further Friday.
The two young women and man are among 32 people testing positive according to the health unit this afternoon. Public Health Ontario reporting just 25 cases this morning.
They are:
- Gravenhurst woman, 18-34, with close contact, reported June 5, with a first episode June 4
- Lake of Bays man, 18-34, under investigation, reported June 4, with a first episode June 2
- Lake of Bays woman, 18-34, under investigation, reported June 3, with a first episode June 1
There were no new deaths today.
This as the province and most nearby regions to the south had fewer cases than Sunday.
Ontario saw 525 cases and 15 deaths after 663 and 10 deaths yesterday.
Toronto accounted for 114 (115), York 34 (47), Peel 95 (112) and North Bay-Parry Sound 0 (0).
There are still 273 active cases within the region among 12,066 confirmed cases to date.
As more people in Simcoe-Muskoka get vaccinated (58 per cent first dose, 6.9 per cent second shot) and cases go down, Stage 1 of the reopening will come three days ahead of the June 14 originally-scheduled date.
They include outdoor patio dining, but not indoor school classes.
See more details below.
Ontario has now surpassed 10 million people with at least their first vaccine, with many more finding it easier and quicker to book a second injection — some within a day locally.
HEALTH UNIT HIGHLIGHTS:
- 12,066 cases to date.
- 14 new cases so far this week. There were 151 last week, which was 27% lower than the 207 cases for the week of May 23.
- 1 death in June, 18 in May, 25 in April, 12 in March
- 3,838 Alpha variants, 143 Gamma, 26 Beta, 10 Delta
- 702 cases await confirmation of variant
- 390,675+ vaccines have been administered in Simcoe Muskoka
- 348,750+ residents have had their first dose of vaccine, which represents more than 58% of the population.
IN OTHER COVID NEWS …
- Manitoba 169 cases and 2 deaths; Quebec 194 and 3 deaths.
- The town of Caledon is promoting a “visitor etiquette” for non-locals after crops and land were damaged by trespassers on “private land.” Caledonians say they want their land and property respected by visitors as if it were their own, calling it “basic farm etiquette.”
- Canada waves quarantine for NHL finalists crossing border for Stanley Cup playoffs.
STAGE 1 OF REOPENING:
According to the province, the roadmap includes but is not limited to:
Outdoor social gatherings and organized public events with up to 10 people;
Outdoor religious services, rites, or ceremonies, including wedding services and funeral services, capped at the number of people that can maintain a physical distance of two metres;
Indoor religious services, rites, or ceremonies, including wedding services and funeral services permitted at up to 15 per cent capacity of the particular room;
Non-essential retail permitted at 15 per cent capacity, with no restrictions on the goods that can be sold;
Essential and other select retail permitted at 25 per cent capacity, with no restrictions on the goods that can be sold;
Outdoor dining with up to four people per table, with exceptions for larger households;
Outdoor fitness classes, outdoor groups in personal training and outdoor individual/team sport training to be permitted with up to 10 people, among other restrictions;
Day camps for children permitted to operate in a manner consistent with the safety guidelines for COVID-19 produced by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health;
Overnight camping at campgrounds and campsites, including Ontario Parks, and short-term rentals;
Concert venues, theatres and cinemas may open outdoors for the purpose of rehearsing or performing a recorded or broadcasted concert, artistic event, theatrical performance or other performance with no more than 10 performers, among other restrictions;
Outdoor horse racing tracks and motor speedways permitted to operate without spectators; and
Outdoor attractions such as zoos, landmarks, historic sites, botanical gardens with capacity and other restrictions.
In addition, to support students who have worked incredibly hard throughout the pandemic, the government is enabling school boards for public and private elementary and high schools to invite students back for brief outdoor end-of-year celebration. Any in-person school year celebrations will need to meet specific requirements.
The province will remain in Step One for at least 21 days to evaluate any impacts on key public health and health system indicators. If at the end of the 21 days the province has vaccinated 70 per cent of adults with one dose and 20 per cent of adults with two doses and there are continued improvements in other key public health and health system indicators, the province will move to Step Two of the Roadmap.
All public health and workplace safety measures currently in place will remain in effect until the province moves to Step One on June 11, 2021 at 12:01 a.m.
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