HEAT WAVE MISSED VACCINATON OPPORTUNITY WITH 17 CASES TODAY

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — A pop-up vaccine clinic in Gravenhurst today was cancelled due to heat and threat of rain.

Officials at the Farmers’ Market at the Muskoka Wharf, where “thousands” were on hand for the weekly sale, were expecting the health unit to be on hand from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

But a sudden change of plan was a missed opportunity for the unvaccinated and the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU), which reported

This as the health unit reported 17 cases today — again all in Simcoe.

Vaccines continue to plague local health officials who are trying to reach the unvaccinated.

Despite that public tolerance and intolerance for mask guidelines in public remains a mixed bag — as could be seen among market shoppers this afternoon.

Masks are hit and miss even though they are widely available.

Sue Stevens, a vendor who’s been making cotton products for 19 years, says her sales of masks have halved since last summer when she sold about 200 a week out of her Baggy Pants tent.

She said there was brief spike in Gravenhurst and at her other summer booth in Rosseau a few weeks ago.

Stevens would prefer not have to make and sell them, but still makes the all-cotton face covers available in four colourful sizes — including average and large for adults and two sizes for kids.

Paulina Wyrebek and Martha Pluto, who were up from the GTA and doing some shopping, said they’re vaccinated and wish other young people also in their 20s would do likewise.

The marketing and finance workers said they were quick to get the jab when it became available and they didn’t have to wait their time based on their ages.

Both said they feel “more comfortable” going out in public with the vaccine, but still prefer to wear masks.

Local vaccine numbers nudge up today to 71.1 per cent of the region’s population at one dose and 64.2 per cent at two shots.

With 3 more hospitalizations since yesterday, that’s a third of the 9 cases in area hospitals and a much higher number than in recent weeks.

This after Ontario cases jumped again to 660 after a drop to 486 yesterday.

WEDNESDAY: COVID BY THE NUMBERS … 24 CASES IN SIMCOE-MUSKOKA  (16 YESTERDAY) … ONTARIO 660 AND 1 DEATH (486-18) … TORONTO 151 (128), YORK 93 (45), PEEL 52 (83) … NORTH BAY-PARRY SOUND 0 (1) …  PORCUPINE 0 (1) …

Sue Stevens, of Baggy Pants, says mask sales are down and frankly she’s OK with that. But they’re likely to go back up in the fall if cases continue to rise.

HEALTH UNIT HIGHLIGHTS:

  • 12,698 cases to date
  • 51 cases this week; 127 last week, which was 27% higher than the 100 cases the first week of August
  • From December 22nd, 2020 onwards, there have been 95 confirmed COVID-19 cases among immunized individuals (see technical notes for definitions).
  • 0 deaths in August, 4 in July, 6 in June
  • 4,008 Alpha variants of concern, 167 Gamma, 34 Beta, 394 Delta
  • 669 cases await confirmation of VOC
  • 827,137 vaccine have been administered
  • 430,371 residents have received one vaccine, which represents 71% of population
  • 81% of the population 12 years and older have had one vaccine
  • 75% of youth 12 to 17 years have also had one vaccine

The health unit says 97 per cent of all cases now are Delta variants.

IN OTHER COVID NEWS…

  • Pressure on Ontario to introduce vaccine proof/passports as growing number of provinces have or are planning to do. And absent that some health units, like Peel, are looking at introducing their own local version.
  • Imams across Canada are urging Muslim members in 25 national communities to get vaccinated.
  • New York State’s new governor Kathy Hochul wasted no time releasing new figures that showed 12,000 more un-announced cases by her ousted predecessor Andrew Cuomo.

 

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