BARRIE, ONT. -- The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) reports 74 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, plus one new virus-related death of a Simcoe County woman.
Public health has recorded 224 COVID-19 deaths, 22 this month alone.
Dr. Barry Nathanson, Stevenson Memorial Hospital's chief of staff, said he's never experienced anything like this throughout his career. "We've never had to redeploy human resources the way we have had to do this time. We've never had to reconfigure resources such as critical care units the way we have had to do this time. We've never had to outfit children's hospitals for the provision of adult care. We've never had our skies darkened by helicopters travelling, carrying patients from place to place."
There are currently 1,372 active COVID-19 infections in the region. Of those, 1,004 are variant strains.
According to the SMDHU, over 2,500 local cases tested positive for the UK B.1.1.7 strain. Thirty-six cases were identified as the P.1 variant (Brazil), and seven tested positive for the B.1.351 (South Africa) strain. An additional 672 cases require further testing to identify.
The health unit lists three long-term care homes with active outbreaks, Muskoka Shores in Gravenhurst, Creedan Valley in Creemore and Simcoe Manor in Beeton.
On Thursday, the province announced Pfizer and Moderna vaccines would be available to residents 50 and older starting the week of May 3.
In Bradford West Gwillimbury, those 40 and older can book an appointment through the special community clinics booking system, while residents 45 and older living in the L3Z postal code can book here.
Ontario added the week of May 10, the minimum age to book a vaccine would lower to 40. The following week, the age minimum will drop to 30.
The province hopes to have everyone 18 and up eligible to register for the COVID-19 shot by the end of May.
Currently, 30 per cent of Simcoe Muskoka residents have received their first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, including seniors, health care workers and other eligible individuals.
Still, Dr. Nathanson encourages residents to maintain safety protocols developed by public health and the province to curb the spread of the virus.
"It's easy, I think, to blame the government, and to blame policy and no one is perfect - but overall, I think the real burden falls to those of us in our population who have made decisions that are not consistent with public health," he concluded.
