28 CASES IN SIMCOE TODAY — WITH ONLY 60.4% FULLY VACCINATED IN REGION
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — A weekend with 28 new COVID cases reported in Simcoe follows a province-wide trend that has many local residents on edge.
Including those in Muskoka — where while there were no cases today it’s almost triple the number in the region compared to this time last year.
In the first 10 days of last August there were 10 cases.
One of them, on Aug. 10, was a young man from Gravenhurst, aged 18-34, who contracted the corona virus through travel.
With the Delta variant driving the fourth wave, the Simcoe-Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) says they’ve now had 214 cases.
But only 1 person in hospital as a result.
And as of today, 60.4 per cent of Simcoe-Muskoka residents are fully vaccinated and 69.7 per cent have had at least one vaccine shot.
SMDHU is trying to get more people to get vaccinated with pop-up clinics like the one today at the Gravenhurst High School.
But it still appears a hard-sell with fewer people showing up compared to previous clinics.
This as Ontario reports 325 COVID cases — a day after 423 on Sunday. There were no new deaths Monday after 6 yesterday.
Those are some of the highest numbers since June just weeks ahead of schools opening in Ontario.
And ahead of an expected federal election call within weeks.
That has more people jumping on the vaccine passport bandwagon, including business groups who are worried about another lockdown.
Canada’s top doc Dr. Theresa Tam says we may already be at the beginning of a fourth wave.
Quebec reported 759 cases the same past three days.
MONDAY: COVID BY THE NUMBERS … 10 CASES IN SIMCOE-MUSKOKA (8 YESTERDAY) … ONTARIO 325 AND 0 DEATHS (423-6) … TORONTO 90 (109), YORK 29 (57), PEEL 47 (51) … NORTH BAY-PARRY SOUND 1 (0) … PORCUPINE 0 (1) …
HEALTH UNIT HIGHLIGHTS:
- 12,428 cases to date
- 28 new cases reported to the health unit for the current week, 37 last week, which was 32% higher than the 28 cases the week before
- 0 deaths in August, 6 in July, 4 in June
- 4,000 Alpha variants, 167 Gamma, 34 Beta, 214 Delta
- 673 cases await confirmation of variant
- 796,268 vaccines have been administered in Simcoe Muskoka
- 421,450+ residents have received at least one vaccine, which represents almost 70% of the population.
- 79% of the those aged 12 years and older have had at least vaccine
- 70% of youth 12 to 17 years of age have also received one vaccine
IN OTHER COVID NEWS …
- Canada opened its border to the U.S. today — but it’s a one-way street as the Americans aren’t allowing their citizens to travel north. Essential services are exempted.
- Just don’t travel to Florida or Texas. Or if you do make sure you have good insurance and keep your distance — say to the Carolinas or north of the Mason-Dixon line.
- There’s Scotiabank and there could be ‘Scotia Pass’ if Nova Scotia Liberal Premier Ian Rankin gets re-elected Aug. 17, he says. The province would join neighbouring Quebec with the same.
- U.S. military gets marching orders from Pentagon: get vaccinated by Sept. 15 — if not sooner.
- 30 top officials in China have been fired — including a vice mayor, hospital and tourism officials — as the country’s National Health Commission reported 94 new cases of domestic transmission yesterday. China has declared travel restrictions and lockdowns including isolating a city with 1.5 million people.
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