BARRIE, ONT. -- The COVID-19 outbreak at Georgian Bay General Hospital continues to devastate the Midland facility as the death toll climbs.

The hospital reports another person has died with the virus, marking the sixth death since the outbreak was declared on Dec. 4.

To date, 27 staff members and 28 patients have been infected, plus one visitor.

In Barrie, testing at the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre's (RVH) Sperling Drive centre continues to see high volumes of residents with symptoms.

Stella Johnson, RVH operations director, says the clinic was closed on Christmas Day but ramped back up again over the weekend with hundreds of people tested.

"We did see 500 patients again yesterday, so busier than we were the second and third week of December, so that tells us patients are experiencing symptoms or meeting criteria in some way," she says.

According to Johnson, the clinic can handle upwards of 800 tests daily.  "We're seeing lots of individuals coming forward with that runny nose, sore throat, cough, fever and headache," she adds.

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The current number of COVID cases across the region is unknown. Because of the holidays, the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit hasn't posted an update since last week, it will provide its next comprehensive update on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the province went into lockdown on Saturday, with authorities urging people to stay home, especially after news that a variant of the COVID-19 virus was found in the Durham Region over the weekend.

Ontario is calling for a new COVID-19 testing program at airports after a couple from Durham Region was diagnosed with a strain of the virus that has been spreading in the U.K.

The variant contracted by the couple just east of Toronto has also been identified in several other countries, including Denmark, Belgium, Australia and the Netherlands.

The Public Health Agency of Canada said early data suggests these new variants may be more transmissible, but ongoing research so far indicates the variant did not impact vaccine effectiveness.

The Ontario government noted on Saturday that the discovery of the variant was "not unexpected" due to international travel and that the diagnosed couple has no known travel history, exposure or high-risk contacts.

The provincial government said it is prepared to start a COVID-19 testing program in airports but is calling for support from the federal government.