Orillia woman among 37 new COVID cases in Simcoe County today

The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit has reported 37 new cases of COVID-19 in the region today.

The breakdown of cases provided by the health unit is as follows: 

• Orillia (1): One woman between 35 and 44 years old whose case is linked to a congregate setting outbreak.
• Ramara (1): One man between 35 and 44 years old, case transmission under investigation.
• Severn (1): One woman between 35 and 44 years old, case transmission is linked to an institutional outbreak.
• Collingwood (1): one man between 65 and 79 years old whose case is linked to close contact. One case previously reported in Collingwood was removed from the case list and transferred to another health unit.
• Barrie (12): Two girls under 18, two women and three men between 18 and 34 years old, two women and a man between 35 and 44 years old, and a man and a woman between 45 and 64 years old. One case is linked to close contact and one case is linked to a congregate setting outbreak, the rest are still under investigation. 
• Bradford West Gwillimbury (6): One girl and one boy under 18, one woman and one man between 18 and 34 years old, one man between 35 and 44 years old, and one man between 45 and 64 years old. All case transmission is still under investigation.
• Innisfil (1): One woman between 45 and 64 years old. The transmission source is under investigation.
• Springwater (1): A man between 65 and 79 years old whose transmission source is under investigation. 
• Midland (4): One girl under 18, one man between 35 and 44 years old, and two men between 45 and 64 years old. All case transmission sources are under investigation. 
• Penetanguishene (1): One man between 18 and 34 years old, case transmission is under investigation.
• New Tecumseth (8): One woman between 18 and 34 years old, one man between 35 and 44 years old, three women and one man between 45 and 64 years old, one woman between 65 and 79 years old and one man over the age of 80. All case transmissions are under investigation. 

Since the weekend, the health unit has confirmed 339 new cases of COVID-19. This is the highest number of cases ever reported in Simcoe-Muskoka over the course of a week during the pandemic. 

The growth rate of infections in the region is 1.8 per cent based on cases confirmed between Nov. 29 and Dec. 5. If that growth rate continues, health unit projections indicate the region could see as many as 64 cases per day by the final week of December (about 450 cases in a week). 

The local has now confirmed 2,584 cases of COVID-19 with 2,155 of those cases recovered and 54 cases ending in death. There are 360 active, lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the region, with the majority of those in Simcoe County.

There are at least 15 people from Simcoe County hospitalized, but the health unit has noted a lag in its reporting of hospitalizations.

There have been 2,478 cases confirmed in just Simcoe County, with 2,059 of those now recovered and 53 deaths.

*Incidence rate is number of cases per 100,000 people in the local population.

**Total cases includes the number of cases currently recovering at home as well as any that have recovered, died, or are in hospital