ROAD CLOSURE
Simcoe Muskoka logs 13 new COVID-19 cases, lowest daily count in 7 months
Barrie, Ont. -
The Simcoe Muskoka health unit logged 13 new infections Tuesday, the lowest single-day COVID-19 case count in seven months.
The last time the case count was this low was on Nov. 6, 2020, when 12 COVID-19 cases were reported.
Public health is cautiously optimistic as businesses prepare to reopen after Ontario announced it would move into Step 1 on Friday.
The region currently has 199 active COVID-19 cases, including 24 hospitalizations.
Variant cases have also decreased in recent weeks. The health unit says the seven-day moving average of new variants of concern has dipped to below 20 cases per day.
Roughly 83 per cent of COVID-19 cases have screened positive for a variant. The B.1.1.7 is the most commonly identified variant of concern in Simcoe Muskoka.
No new virus-related deaths were recorded on Tuesday, keeping the region's death count at 246.
The health unit reports 58 per cent of Simcoe Muskoka residents have received their first COVID-19 vaccine shot, while 8 per cent have had both.
Meanwhile, the province also boasted its lowest single-day COVID-19 case count so far this year. Ontario reported 469 new infections Tuesday, and 18 deaths related to the virus.
The last time the provincial case count was this low was on Sept. 26, 2020, when 435 COVID-19 cases were reported.
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