Highly transmissible 'Kraken' variant found in Simcoe Muskoka
Cases of a new, highly-transmissible Omicron subvariant have risen in Ontario and are starting to show signs of appearing in Simcoe Muskoka.

Cases of a new, highly-transmissible Omicron subvariant have risen in Ontario and are starting to show signs of appearing in Simcoe Muskoka.
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit is offering the bivalent booster dose for adults 18 and older at several clinics starting today.
Parents of children under five in Simcoe Muskoka can book an appointment for the pediatric COVID-19 vaccine starting Thursday.
The Simcoe Muskoka health unit is now offering fourth doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to a select group.
Summer festivals, events and travel plans are getting into full swing, and so is a new wave of COVID-19, with weekly cases increasing by 46 per cent across Simcoe Muskoka.
The emergence of the new BA.5 COVID-19 variant has seen case counts increase in each of the last two weeks in Simcoe County, with 44 new this week by Monday alone.
Most of the province's remaining mask mandates will lift at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, but major hospitals across the region will continue to require masking.
Most of the remaining mask mandates will expire Saturday across the province, prompting Simcoe Muskoka's top doctor to urge caution as "there is still a significant amount of transmission of COVID-19."
Mayor John Tory has formally terminated a municipal state of emergency which had been in effect for a total of 777 days, calling it “just one more sign that the city is returning to a more normal state of existence.”
Three local medical officers of health have written a joint letter to Ontario's top doctor, asking him to bring back mask mandates in schools and other indoor public settings.
The Ontario Liberals say they would add COVID-19 vaccination to the immunization schedule for schools, if elected.
Nearly half of all Torontonians 60 and up have now received a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine, one month after the province opened up eligibility for the age group.
The City of Toronto implemented a number of summer programs over the past two years since the pandemic started in 2020. Despite COVID-19 restrictions rolling away, many of them are here to stay.
When should you get your fourth dose in Ontario? The timing can differ for people who have been previously infected with the virus.
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health released their biennial findings on youth mental health Tuesday, reporting increased feelings of depression and anxiety among students due to the pandemic and climate change
As another wave of COVID-19 is projected to hit Ontario in the fall, families are looking to the months ahead and possible public health restrictions with different mindsets.
Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore says he’s cautiously optimistic that the worst of the sixth COVID-19 wave will be over soon as hospitalizations are expected to peak in days.
After a devastating fire at an Oro-Medonte animal shelter, all missing cats have been accounted for.
Ontario Provincial Police arrested a fourth suspect in connection to the alleged kidnapping of Elnaz Hajtamiri, the Ontario woman who disappeared in January 2022.
Several people have been hospitalized with smoke inhalation after trying to save multiple animals from a fire at a cat shelter on Shanty Bay Road in Oro-Medonte.
Fire crews from multiple municipalities banded together Thursday evening after a major blaze in the Town of Meaford that has forced the closure of a road, a school and disrupted the water supply.
Hundreds of roaring fans gave the Collingwood Blues a championship welcome home on Saturday.
'Georgian Bay Forever,' an organization dedicated to conserving the bay, has dropped dozens of bottles into the water, each outfitted with GPS tracking devices.
Toronto Pearson airport is warning residents they may see some ‘unusual activity’ around the airport.
A new report is casting doubt on the idea that Canada is facing a widespread labour shortage and bolsters the arguments by some labour economists that high job vacancies aren't due to a shortage of workers.
A Tennessee company is refusing demands from U.S. regulators to recall millions of vehicles due to airbag inflators that can explode and shoot shrapnel into drivers. While cases are rare, there has been at least one death in Canada, where officials lack the authority to demand a similarly sweeping recall.
People who develop prediabetes when they’re younger are likely to have a higher risk for dementia in later life, a new U.S. study has found.
Celebrated Team Canada hockey players Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey have announced their engagement.
An attorney for an 11-year-old Mississippi boy who was shot by a police officer after he called 911 for help said Thursday there was 'no way' the boy could have been mistaken for an adult.
Killer whales severely damaged a sailing boat off the coast of southern Spain, the local maritime rescue service said on Thursday, adding to dozens of orca attacks on vessels recorded so far this year on Spanish and Portuguese coasts.
It is a world wrapped in mystery - the seventh planet from the sun, Uranus, seen up close just once nearly four decades ago by a passing NASA probe and still warily guarding its secrets.
Mexican authorities say they've made an arrest in the killing of a Quebec man earlier this month in the Pacific coast beach town of Puerto Escondido. The Oaxaca state attorney general says in a statement issued Friday that an arrest warrant was executed for a man in Puerto Escondido identified only by his initials in connection with the homicide of Victor Masson.
Mortgage delinquencies are expected to rise by more than one-third of current levels over the next year, according to some economists. If you anticipate being unable to make your payments and decide to sell your home, here's what an expert says you should consider.
Egypt unearthed human and animal mummification workshops as well as two tombs in the ancient burial ground of Saqqara, officials said on Saturday, marking the latest in a string of discoveries that the country hopes can help revive its vital tourism industry.
People with Type 2 diabetes should exercise in the afternoon instead of the morning to manage their blood sugar, a new study has found.