BARRIE, ONT. -- The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) reports 62 COVID-19 cases Friday, for a weekly total of 321.
The health unit lists 17 people in the hospital with the virus and 448 active cases across Simcoe Muskoka.
Four people died with COVID-19 this week, including two at Georgian Bay General Hospital, where staff are battling a stubborn outbreak of the virus. The recent virus-related deaths bring the region's death toll to 58.
Along with the Midland hospital, there are nine other institutional outbreaks listed by the health unit. Eight of those are in seniors' homes, while one is at the Central North Correctional Centre in Penetanguishene.
On the final day before winter break, the health unit declared an outbreak at St. Mary's Catholic School in Barrie. There are also active outbreaks at Barrie North Collegiate Institute, St. Joseph's Catholic High School in Barrie, Bear Creek Secondary School in Barrie, Portage View Public School in Barrie, Our Lady of Grace Catholic School in Angus and Bradford District High School.
Tracking COVID-19 cases in local schools
Earlier this week, the province told school boards to prepare to potentially transition to remote learning in the new year. Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the education system needed to be ready for "all scenarios."
Meanwhile, Premier Doug Ford said Friday afternoon that he would announce any further COVID-19 measures on Monday after an emergency meeting over the weekend. This after Ontario's hospitals called for the government to move red zone regions, including Simcoe Muskoka, into lockdowns with the holidays approaching.
Ontario Medical Association's president and CEO said surveys indicated many Ontarians don't plan on following health guidelines over the holidays, which could lead to an influx of COVID-19 cases, pushing hospitals to capacity.
However, it's not clear if schools would close if Simcoe Muskoka shifted into lockdown measures. "Full lockdowns in regions, such as Toronto, Peel and Vaughan have not resulted in school closures," Dr. Charles Gardner, Simcoe Muskoka's chief medical officer of health, stated in a letter earlier this week.
Still, Ford said in a press conference Thursday that "everything is on the table." The premier stressed that keeping Ontarians safe was the ultimate goal, whatever that might mean. "Everything is on the table when it comes to protecting the health of Ontarians," Ford said in a statement.
Dr. Gardner urged the public to keep to their households and refrain from travelling, except for essential reasons to slow the spread of transmission.
"It is critical that we don't let our guard down," he said. "We must continue to practice those public health measures that will keep us and our loved ones safe until we are all able to be vaccinated. Wear a mask, physically distance from those outside our households, wash your hands frequently, stay home if sick and get tested for COVID-19 if you have symptoms, are still critical to reducing and preventing transmission of the virus."
On Friday, the province reported its fourth straight day of over 2,000 cases. Health officials said there were 2,290 infections and 40 virus-related deaths in the past 24 hours.
