ONLY 1 COVID CASE THIS MONTH IN MUSKOKA; BUT 19 TODAY IN SIMCOE

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — A week in to October and there’s only been 1 COVID case in Muskoka.

A man in Bracebridge, aged 45-64, with close contact was the only northern resident in Simcoe-Muskoka to test positive. His case was reported last Friday on the first day of this month, with a first episode Sept. 20.

Simcoe had 89 cases.

Six months ago, in April, Muskoka reported 122 cases.

Last April Muskoka had 122 cases, this month only 1 so far.

Today Simcoe reports a second day with 19 cases.

There have been no deaths in either half of the health unit this month. Five people died in September in Simcoe.

Overnight one more local person did enter hospital. They are the seventh person hospitalized at this time.

Seventeen of today’s caes were among residents unvaccinated and the other 2 were fully vaccinated with the breakthrough cases, according to the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit.

As of Thursday, 80 per cent of regional residents 12+ are fully vaccinated, 5 per cent have had one vaccine and 15 per cent are unvaccinated.

Simcoe-Muskoka’s vaccination rate among those 12+ is slowly catching up to the provincial target of 90 per cent.

Provincially 25,240 vaccines were dispensed yesterday, bringing Ontario’s total to 21,974,193 as of last night.

This as Pfizer will ask within weeks for Health Canada to authorize distribution of a vaccine for kids 5-11. It would be one-third strength of the adult version.

Today Pfizer did ask the U.S. for permission that if granted could see children being immunized before Halloween.

Meanwhile, Ontario cases took a steep jump of more than 110 the past day. Yesterday there were 476 cases and today 587.

And in Alberta 756 schools have now reported cases, along with 54 day-care centres.

THURSDAY: COVID BY THE NUMBERS PHO: … 22 CASES IN SIMCOE-MUSKOKA (18 YESTERDAY) … ONTARIO 587 AND 5 DEATHS (476-10) … TORONTO 119 (84), YORK 55 (44), PEEL 42 (39) … NORTH BAY-PARRY SOUND 6 (2) … PORCUPINE 0 (0) …

GAP volunteers Bruce Dart and Roger Bird load delivery vehicles today in Gravenhurst where they threw in an extra bonus bag for Thanksgiving, compliments of Sobeys, to serve more than 600 people.
Extra bags of food from Sobeys were lined up out the door and up the stairs at Trinity United Church in addition to the usual couple hundred boxes each Thursday GAP give out free of charge. Call them to get on their delivery route at 705-641-2225.

HEALTH UNIT HIGHLIGHTS:

  • 13,614 cases to date
  • 71 cases this week; 97 last week, which was 10% lower than the 108 cases the week before
  • From Dec. 22 there have been 273 confirmed COVID-19 cases among vaccinated individuals
  • 5 COVID-19 related death were reported in September.
  • From Aug. 8 to Oct. 2, the rate of COVID-19 infection among the unvaccinated vaccine-eligible Simcoe Muskoka population is 11 times higher than it is for fully vaccinated population and the rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations is 40 times higher.
  • 4,007 Alpha variants of concern, 168 Gamma, 34 Beta, 1,246 Delta
  • 664 cases await confirmation of VOC
  • 887,444 vaccines have been administered
  • 453,769 residents have received at least one vaccine, which is 75% of the total population
  • 85% of those 12+ have had one vaccine
  • 84% of youth 12 to 17 have also received at least one vaccine

One more person was admitted to hospital overnight for a total of 7 as of Thursday.

IN OTHER COVID NEWS …

  • Gas prices are expected to go up to more than 40 per cent what they were a year ago when they could hit $1.50 a litre. Expect the same for home heating fuel as energy bill will escalate along with other basic living costs like food.
  • WHO reported Thursday 236.6 million COVID cases so far — with 4.8 million people dying, according to John Hopkins University data.
  • A Maryland man, 46, is charged in the Sept. 30 shooting deaths of his sister-in-law and his brother, who is a pharmacist, after telling his mother he wanted to confront him over administering vaccines. Jeffery Allan Burnham is also charged with killing a woman, 83.

EMAIL: news@muskokatoday.com

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