Three new Penetanguishene COVID-19 cases among 55 reported in region today

The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit has reported 55 new COVID-19 cases in today's update (March 26). 

There are 417 active, lab-confirmed cases in the region, most of which are in Simcoe County.

The health unit has reported 1,130 cases have screened positive and/or been confirmed with sequencing as variant cases. Of those, 222 are still active cases. Screening and sequencing tests can take several days, and sometimes results are not returned until after the individual has recovered. 

Sequencing tests have confirmed 542 cases of the B.1.1.7 (variant strain that originated in the UK) in Simcoe Muskoka. There have also been 10 cases of the P.1 variant that first originated in Brazil in the region and one case of the B.1.351 strain that originated in South Africa.

Since the start of the pandemic, the local health unit has confirmed 7,464 cases of COVID-19 with 6,763 of those cases recovered and 196 cases ending in death. 

There are 22 people from Simcoe County hospitalized with COVID-19, which includes two new hospitalizations since yesterday.

The health unit has administered 80,315 doses of vaccines against COVID-19 in Simcoe Muskoka, with 2,726 doses given yesterday.

The new cases reported in Simcoe County and Muskoka District today include (case transmission is under investigation unless otherwise specified): 

• Penetanguishene (3): A  youth under 18, a man between 35 and 44 years old, and a woman between 45 and 64 years old. .
• Tay (1): A woman between 45 and 64 years old.
• Ramara (1): A youth under 18 whose case is listed as community-acquired.
• Collingwood (3): A man between 18 and 34 years old, a woman between 35 and 44 years old and a woman between 45 and 64 years old. One case was community-acquired. Two cases previously reported in Collingwood have been removed from the list either because they didn't meet case definition or they were transferred to a different health unit.
• Clearview (1): A man between 65 and 79 years old whose case was community-acquired.
• Springwater (4): A man between 18 and 34 years old, a woman between 35 and 44 years old, a woman between 45 and 64 years old, and a woman over 79 years old. Two cases are listed as community-acquired and one is linked to close contact.
• Barrie (11): Two women between 18 and 34 years old, three men and a woman between 35 and 44 years old, a woman and two men between 45 and 64 years old, and a man and a woman between 65 and 79 years old. One case has been linked to travel, two to close contact, and two are attributed to community transmission. 
• Innisfil (3): A man and a woman between 18 and 34 years old and a man between 35 and 44 years old. One case was community-acquired. 
• Bradford West Gwillimbury (19):  Four youth under 18 years old, three men and five women between 18 and 34 years old, two men between 35 and 44, a woman and two men between 45 and 64, a man between 65 and 79, and a woman over 79 years old. Six cases are linked to close contact, and three are listed as community-acquired.
• Orillia (1): A woman between 35 and 44 years old. 
• Essa (2): Two women between 45 and 64 years old,
• New Tecumseth (6): A youth under 18 years old, a woman between 35 and 44 years old, a woman and two men between 45 and 64 years old, and a woman between 65 and 79 years old. Two cases are outbreak-related, and two are linked to close contact.

For a list of ongoing outbreaks at institutions, long-term care and retirement homes and hospitals in the region, click here.

For more on the local trajectory of COVID-19 from the health unit, click here.

*Cumulative incidence rate is the number of cases per 100,000 people reported to date

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

***Weekly incidence rate is the number of cases per 100,000 people reported for the week of Mar. 14. Where municipalities have had low or no weekly increase, no rate is included