Simcoe Muskoka health unit reports 12 new COVID-19 cases

Barrie, Ont. -

The Simcoe Muskoka health unit logged a dozen new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday.

Of those who tested positive, the health unit reports nine are unvaccinated, two are partially, and one fully.

The cases are listed in Barrie (5), New Tecumseth (3), Essa, Innisfil, Wasaga Beach and Muskoka Lakes.

Five are determined to be from close contact with a positive case. One was community-acquired, one was travel-related, and the remaining are under investigation.

There are currently 137 active cases across Simcoe Muskoka, including 11 hospitalizations.

OUTBREAKS

There are five active COVID-19 outbreaks in Simcoe Muskoka, including four outbreaks in local schools.

• Monsignor Clair Public School in Barrie - three positive cases
• W.H. Day Public School in Bradford - three positive cases
• Alliston Union Public School in Alliston - four positive cases
• Fieldcrest Elementary School in Bradford - two positive cases

On Monday, the health unit also declared an outbreak at a group home in Simcoe County after two people tested positive for the virus.

VACCINE LATEST

The Simcoe Muskoka health unit reports that 74.4 per cent of the population has had its first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, 69 per cent have had both doses.

Dr. Sohail Gandhi, the past president of the Ontario Medical Association, says he's pleased with how willing Ontarians have been to get vaccinated.

Still, Gandhi says it's important to continue safety measures.

"Even though you're fully vaccinated, it's probably better for the time being to continue to wear a mask when you're indoors in a facility," he adds.

Gandhi says misinformation is the root of many people's vaccine hesitancy. "If you look at the worldwide numbers, and I'm talking across the entire world, something like three and a half billion people have had at least one dose of a COVID vaccine of some sort or another. That's a huge number of people," he says.

"If there was some sort of problem with the COVID vaccine that affected 50 per cent of people who got the vaccine, you would have heard about it by now."

The province is reporting 466 new cases on Wednesday and 11 more deaths from the virus.

Of the new cases, 347 are unvaccinated or have unknown status, 119 are fully vaccinated.