Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — With health officials on both sides of the Atlantic urging a “call for arms” and citing the “grave threat” of Omicron 96 local cases is the new norm.

A half dozen of today’s cases are in Muskoka.

And by all accounts they are most likely Omicron.

No wonder Ontario’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore made his war on COVID his call to arms.

Or why his British counterpart at U.K.’s NHS brought up more deaths. Indeed Ontario had 7 today — another in Simcoe County.

In Muskoka those cases included:

1. Georgian Bay woman, 45-64, under investigation, reported Dec. 13, first episode Dec. 12
2. Georgian Bay woman, 45-64, under investigation, reported Dec. 13, first episode Dec. 12
3. Huntsville woman, 45-64, under investigation, reported Dec. 13, first episode Dec. 12
4. Muskoka Lakes boy, 0-17, under investigation, reported Dec. 13, first episode Dec. 11
5. Muskoka Lakes woman, 35-44, under investigation, reported Dec. 13, first episode Dec. 11
6. Gravenhurst man, 45-64, under investigation, reported Dec. 10, first episode Dec. 9

(*A Bracebridge case was moved to another health unit.)

Among the 96 cases, 55 were unvaccinated, 38 were fully vaccinated and 3 partially vaccinated.

The Simcoe-Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) reports 861 active cases.

But chin up, said Moore, all the way to the nose with those masks.

His cover-up comment this afternoon was all about facing new facts.

But he said nothing about more booster shots, rapid tests, schools closing early or gathering limits.

The latter was left to Ottawa and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland to announce $1.5 billion for rapid testing for provinces, including Ontario that is still slow off that mark.

But at least it’s thinking about it, while Manitoba is questioning the validity of rapid tests.

However, Moore did say “smaller is better” when it comes to Christmas gatherings.

And that Ontario is providing more testing for LTC and retirement homes and restrictions on visitations at both.

Sadly he also said Omicron means overnight visits by hard-hit seniors in those homes won’t be allowed for Christmas visits.

This as Moore said positivity test rates in the province are 6.6 per cent and the weekly number cases per 100,000 are at 56.4 per cent.

Hospital admissions were up 13 per cent last week.

Locally, however, 28 people are in hospital now (down from 34 a day ago with 7 admissions) and no one was admitted overnight for the first time in days.

Good news there, mind you.

But with “good evidence,” said Moore, that Omicron is “more transmissible,” and each case of the new variant infects four to eight times as many cases as Delta and is infecting the fully vaccinated.

Because booster shots are effective against Omicron that’s helping overcome the first two vaccines’ waning effectiveness necessitating the third shots.

And while Omicron may prove to be less severe, nonetheless it’ll put “significant demand” on a health system teetering on reeling.

Public demand for booster shots is creating line-ups, a good sign Moore says with seniors and immune compromised people at highest risk.

Yet still no word on when Ontarians 18+ will be in line for No. 3. It can’t be two and out for them.

Kids, 5 to 11, though, have stepped up in recent weeks with 35 per cent first-time vaccinated.

TUESDAY: COVID BY THE P.H.0. NUMBERS: … 68 CASES IN SIMCOE-MUSKOKA (73 YESTERDAY) … ONTARIO 1,429 AND 5 DEATHS (1,536-1) … TORONTO 239 (255), YORK 128 (139), PEEL 102 (89) … NORTH BAY-PARRY SOUND 2 (4) … PORCUPINE 1 (8) …

HEALTH UNIT HIGHLIGHTS:

• 16,816 cases to date
• 129 cases this week
• 564 cases last week, 4% lower than the 588 cases the week before
• From Dec. 22 there have been 1,425 confirmed COVID-19 cases among vaccinated individuals
• 2 deaths in December, 14 in November, 5 each in October and September
• From Oct. 17 to Dec. 11 the rate of COVID-19 infection among the unvaccinated vaccine-eligible Simcoe Muskoka population is seven times higher than it is for fully vaccinated population and the rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations is 16 times higher.
• 3,315 Delta cases; 677 cases await confirmation of variant
• 990,464 vaccines have been administered
• 482,390 residents have received at least one vaccine, which represents 80% of the total population
• 84% of the population 5+ have had at least one vaccine, including 86% of youth 12 to 17 years of age
• 34% of children 5 to 11 have received at least one vaccine

IN OTHER COVID NEWS …

• Quebec reports 1,747 cases and 7 deaths. It is also making rapid tests available at pharmacies.
• Finance Minister Freeland delivered her fiscal update virtually Tuesday after 2 of her staff have tested positive. She said she had no contact with them that would expose her.
• 44 inmates at Ontario’s jail in Brockville were moved to Lindsay after it was closed for an outbreak.
• The Netherlands has closed schools a week early for Christmas holidays.
• A Greek commentator who started his own Free People party has died at 71 from COVID-related illness.
• The U.K. is asking for thousands of volunteers to help it meet an end of year goal for booster shots for all adults. Yet it still hasn’t gone ahead with vaccinating kids 5-11. And Prime Minister Boris Johnson got a bill through calling for night club visitors to show vaccine proof — even though 96 of his Conservative MPs opposed the move.
• Africa’s most populated country, Nigeria, is no longer accepting vaccines with short shelf lives. It’s had to destroy a million expired vaccines.
• Meanwhile the African continent isn’t expected to meet its goal of 70 per cent full vaccination of its 1.3 billion residents until 2024. It has received 420 million doses so far.
• Pfizer claims its COVID pill is a success after testing 2,250 people.
• There are 77 countries now with Omicron cases, including Poland with its first — a young person who travelled to China, where that country now has its second Omi case.
• Saskatchewan is seeing a reduction in cases.
• The RCMP arrested 2 people after a flight to Whitehorse because they refused to wear masks.
• In the U.S. Omicron accounted for 0.4 per cent of cases on Dec. 4 and a week later 2.9 per cent Dec. 11.

EMAIL: [email protected]

28 years of ‘Local Online Journalism’

Twitter: @muskokatoday, Facebook: mclairmont1

Leave comments at end of story

SUBSCRIBE for $25 by e-transferring to [email protected]

Or go online to https://muskokatoday.com/subscriptions