ONE MUSKOKA COVID CASE TODAY, AS KIDS VACCINES COMING LATE NEXT WEEK
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Every kid in Canada 5 to 11 can soon be vaccinated.
Ottawa and Health Canada will make it official at 10 a.m. tomorrow at 10 a.m. meaning almost three million eligible little ones should start getting a children’s dose of Pfizer possibly Nov. 25.
It’s part of lots of good COVID news on the family front — and elsewhere — today.
This as Simcoe-Muskoka continues to grapple with more cases — 67 Thursday according to Public Health Ontario (52 according to the region).
Including a young Bracebridge woman, 18-34, who had close contact after reporting yesterday with a first episode Tuesday.
On Wednesday the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) reported 49 cases — 9 of which were in Muskoka. Six were from Huntsville including 4 under 18 (including 3 in an outbreak); and 3 were from Bracebridge.
SMDHU says in its report that 34 were unvaccinated, 17 fully vaccinated and 1 partially vaccinated.
And that as of today 2,037 Delta variants of concern have been detected among the 14,817 regional cases so far in the pandemic.
There are 425 active cases and 23 people in hospital — 4 of them admitted overnight.
The numbers come as planning is well underway for the largest national paediatric campaign.
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott called it “fantastic news” and that “there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel.”
She said parents will be able to book kids in for appointments “early next week.”
Education Minister Stephen Lecce also announced that school students will be taking home five rapid antigen test kits for the Christmas holidays. They are recommended to be used every two or three days to be delivered to community drop-off locations and pharmacies for testing.
Volunteers needed for Gravenhurst clinic
Meanwhile, the health unit is accepting applications for volunteer support at a vaccination clinic in Gravenhurst.
Volunteers provide support in non-clinical roles. Responsibilities include screening clients for COVID symptoms, monitoring waiting areas, assisting and directing clients, and engaging in cleaning and disinfecting procedures.
You must be 18 or older, be able to stand for long periods of time, work indoors and outdoors, wear personal protective equipment (PPE), obtain a satisfactory criminal record check, and submit proof of COVID-19 vaccination upon acceptance.
More information can be found at smdhu.org.
Interested individuals can fill out an online application form or can inquire by emailing HR.COVID19volunteer@smdhu.org
THURSDAY: COVID BY THE P.H.0. NUMBERS: … 67 CASES IN SIMCOE-MUSKOKA (49 YESTERDAY) … ONTARIO 711 AND 5 DEATHS (512-12) … TORONTO 74 (54), YORK 39 (24), PEEL 40 (26) … NORTH BAY-PARRY SOUND 3 (5) … PORCUPINE 3 (1) …
HEALTH UNIT HIGHLIGHTS:
- 14,817 cases to date
- 195 cases this week
- 332 last week, which was 33% higher than the 249 cases the first week of this month
- From Dec. 22 there have been 646 confirmed COVID-19 cases among vaccinated individuals
- 9 deaths in November, 5 each in October and September
- From Sept. 19 to Nov. 13, the rate of COVID-19 infection among the unvaccinated vaccine-eligible Simcoe Muskoka population is 8 times higher than it is for fully vaccinated population and the rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations is 11 times higher
- 4,008 Alpha variants of concern, 169 Gamma, 34 Beta, 2,037 Delta
- 924,539 vaccines have been administered
- 464,734 residents have received at least one vaccine, which represents 77% of the total population
- 87% of the population 12+ have had at least one vaccine
- 88% of youth 12 to 17 have also received at least one vaccine
IN OTHER COVID NEWS …
- Vaccine clinics across the province may be out of sight, but not out of mind and you’ll see more of them return in time for the Christmas holidays are large gathering centres like malls and the like-sized sites.
- Ontario high school students could return to regular semesters in February or sooner if their school boards get the green light from regional health units.
- Also in elementary schools, lunches and breaks will be restricted to classroom cohorts indoors when distancing between cohorts can’t be maintained. And as of the new year — or even next month — all elementary school-wide assemblies will be held virtually.
- Pharmacies, which were late in to the testing and vaccine roll-outs are now becoming integral portals for next phases of the COVID clampdown as they provide more free testing for people with symptoms. They will also provide testing for people without symptoms. And they will become repositories for student rapid testing collections over the Christmas holidays.
- New Brunswick is coming down hard on anyone who tests positive. Starting tomorrow, if anyone in a household tests positive, everyone living there will have to isolate for 14 days or face a fine of between $480 and $20,400. Fully vaccinated residents in homes can only leave after five days if they test negative. The reason is 49 per cent of new cases the past week resulted from transmission within a household. They reported 72 cases today.
- Ottawa is expected to end a policy requiring short-term (72 hours) travellers to the U.S. to produce a negative COVID test to return.
- Disney Cruise Line says as of 2022 all its cruise line passengers over age 5 will have to be vaccinated.
- Toronto won’t require bookings to skate on its rinks — but capacity will be limited to half the allowed numbers.
EMAIL: news@muskokatoday.com
28 years of ‘Local Online Journalism’
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