A photo, sent to the region’s medical officer of health, showing cars lined up to go boating on McRae Lake in Muskoka has prompted him to issue a stern warning.
“If we’re not careful and we end up with a big surge, we might find ourselves in total lockdown,” said the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit's medical officer of health, Dr. Charles Gardner.
The doctor issued the warning today during a daily media update. He said he received the photo and forwarded it to local police for clarification on routine enforcement.
“I think that was a dangerous situation … the potential for transmission was high, and that’s just one that I know of. There could be many others,” said Gardner.
He said a surge in cases in the next two to three weeks could be the result of people who travelled this Easter Weekend and took part in recreational activities in public spaces.
The surge might impact other regions if those who travelled went outside their health unit district.
“We all need to take this seriously,” said Gardner. “If you don’t get good compliance and we continue to see a surge … if it’s evident we’re not flattening the curve … [complete lockdown] might prove to be necessary. It is, of course, the decision of the provincial government and the premier.”
Gardner said everybody should be taking precautions to prevent the spread. Because there is evidence of community spread, the potential to pick up the virus in the community is always there, he stressed.
He said people should practise physical distancing while out and wash their hands frequently. Today, he also urged people to pick just one person from their household to go shopping at a time, meaning no shopping in groups or pairs.
Gardner even encouraged stores to implement policies permitting only one person per shopping cart.
He reminded the public to limit the number of errands they run and to only go out when it’s essential.
The health unit has recorded 42 cases of community-acquired transmission in lab-confirmed cases. There are 45 patients confirmed positive for COVID-19 with a travel history.
“I believe, at this point in time, the true number of community-acquired cases would be probably much bigger than the number of travel-related cases as this transmits through the community,” said Gardner.
He is encouraged to see the province increase testing capacity and hopes to see that translate to more testing in the region.
“It’s good to get results, because it’s good for our surveillance … it’s good to be able to follow up with contacts and put them into self-isolation,” said Gardner. “We do know that, with surveillance, we have the tip of the iceberg and there are many other cases out there we don’t know about … hopefully, they’ve put themselves into self-isolation.”
He added there are some cases where the person infected is asymptomatic or whose symptoms are very mild. They wouldn’t know they have the virus and can be transmitting it in the community without symptoms.
“It speaks to the importance of physical distancing,” said Gardner. “It’s not only important to take these measures to protect others, but for your own protection.”
Gardner said the region’s “present surge” is continuing, and reminded the public to prepare to keep public health measures in place for weeks and months as the case surges wax and wane.
There are 151 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Simcoe Muskoka region, including 62 recoveries, 47 people self-isolating, 22 isolated at Bradford Valley, 11 people hospitalized, and eight deaths linked to COVID-19.
The case breakdown for towns and cities in Simcoe County is as follows: Bradford W-G (39), Barrie (31), New Tecumseth (17), Orillia (10), Collingwood (7), Innisfil (5), Springwater (5), Midland (4), Wasaga Beach (4), Oro-Medonte (4), Adjala-Tosorontio (2), Clearview (2), Essa (2), Ramara (2), Tiny (2), Penetanguishene (2).
There are also 12 cases confirmed in the Muskoka Region, including Gravenhurst (6), Huntsville (4), Muskoka Lakes (2), and Lake of Bays (1).
Those who have died with the virus include two men in Barrie in their 70s, an Orillia couple in their 70s and 80s, a Wasaga Beach man in his 70s, an Oro-Medonte man in his 70s, a man in his 90s who was a resident at Bradford Valley long-term care facility, and a Muskoka Lakes man in his 80s.
