15 COVID CASES IN SIMCOE TUESDAY, AS PROVINCE ORDERS VACCINES FOR HEALTH, EDUCATION WORKERS

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Vaccines won’t be mandatory for all Ontarians — but in a step in the right direction health and education workers will have to be vaccinated by Sept. 7 or else ….

This as the health unit reports 14 cases in Simcoe and 1 in Muskoka — a Georgian Bay man, 18-34, with close contact who reported May 19 with a first episode May 17.

In backtracking today, the province said this afternoon that doctors, nurses and teachers in high risk settings — and other public employees — will now need the shot in the next three week: unless they have a medical exemption, or they have proof of a negative test.

And in that case they still face multiple rapid tests per week in order to stay on the job.

Or they will have to undergo education on the importance of vaccines.

Justin Trudeau said on the campaign trail today that virtually all federal civil servants, too, will have to vaccinated or “face repercussions” he didn’t elaborate on.

Kieran Moore, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, also announced that the province’s vulnerable population will be the first to receive a booster shot now that 90 per cent of all new cases are of the “highly transmissible” Delta variant.

He also said Ontario is putting a “pause” on Step 3 and the province will remain there without moving to Step 4 despite meeting some goals.

That’s as the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit reports 303 cases now — including 10 more since yesterday bringing to 86 the number of active VOCs.

As well, it said there are 122 active COVID cases in the combined region.

Meanwhile, Simcoe-Muskoka continues an uphill vaccine battle with just 70.4 per cent of the population with one shot and only 63.2 per cent with a second shot.

Also announced was that children who turn 12 before the end of this year can get the vaccine.

TUESDAY: COVID BY THE NUMBERS … 14 CASES IN SIMCOE-MUSKOKA  (18 YESTERDAY) … ONTARIO 348 AND 10 DEATHS (526-0) … TORONTO 85 (128), YORK 32 (66), PEEL 45 (83) … NORTH BAY-PARRY SOUND 1 (1) …  PORCUPINE 0 (0) …

School workers and health care employees will have to be vaccinated by at Sept. 7 with some exceptions.

HEALTH UNIT HIGHLIGHTS:

  • 12,541 cases to date
  • 24 cases this week; 97 last week, which was 162% — or more than 2.5 times — higher than the 37 cases the week of Aug. 1.
  • 0 deaths in August, 4 in July, 6 in August
  • 4,002 Alpha variants, 168 Gamma, 34 Beta, 303 Delta
  • 677 cases await confirmation of VOC
  • 811,297 vaccines administered so far
  • 425,290 residents have received at least one vaccine, which represents 70% of the total population.
  • 80% of those 12+ have had at least one vaccine
  • 72% of youth 12 to 17 have also had at least one vaccine
10 of the “highly transmissible” Delta variants were reported since yesterday.

IN OTHER COVID NEWS …

  • A Lake of Bays case was rescinded today, having been moved to another health unit.
  • Unvaccinated people are 20 times more likely to be in hospital with COVID and 70 per cent more likely to end up in ICU, according to a Star survey. In Toronto that hospitalization number is 90 per cent.
  • Most Americans should get a booster shot eight months after their second vaccine, says Biden administration. It could start late next month, but it still needs FDA (federal drug administration) approval.
  • New Zealand is putting it’s entire population of 5 million (about the size of the GTA) in lockdown till Thursday after 1 case was found.
  • Housing sales are down a fourth straight month, 3.5 per cent June to July. Seasonally adjusted there were 48,686 home sold, said CREA. That’s a 28 per cent plummet from March.

 

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