BARRIE, ONT. -- The number of COVID-19 cases registered in Simcoe Muskoka since the pandemic began has crossed the 10,000 mark.
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) is reporting 283 infections since their last report on Friday, pushing the region's total to 10,097 cases. The active case count sits at 1,313; 910 of those are variant cases.
Bradford West Gwillimbury continues to see the highest incidence rate in the region, with about 400 cases per 100,000 population. New Tecumseth sits closer to 300 per 100,000. Barrie and Innisfil are closer to 230 per 100,000.
With an 11 percent drop in local cases last week, Dr. Sohail Gandhi, past president of the Ontario Medical Association, is hopeful we have seen the worst of the third wave.
Two more people with COVID-19 have died: A Simcoe County man aged 80 or older and a Muskoka woman between the ages of 65 and 79. The region's death toll stands at 221.
Fifty-three Simcoe Muskoka residents are being treated for COVID-19 at area hospitals; 11 more than Friday. Forty-two COVID patients are in the care of Barrie's Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH), many of them transfers from overwhelmed GTA hospitals.
