Health unit confirms 170 new COVID cases since Friday, including 80 in Barrie

The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit has reported 170 new cases of COVID-19 since Friday and has confirmed four deaths. 

Among the four deaths reported today is a man between 65 and 79 years old who died on Jan. 16. His case was associated with the outbreak at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre. 

The other three deaths were residents of Roberta Place long-term care home in Barrie, which is currently in an active COVID-19 outbreak.  The Roberta Place residents whose deaths were reported by the health unit today include a man over 80 who died Jan. 14, a man over 80 who died on Jan. 16, and a woman between 65 and 79 years old who died on Jan. 15.

The new cases reported today include 80 Barrie residents, two Collingwood residents, two Clearview residents, 20 Bradford West Gwillimbury residents, 17 Innisfil residents, four Orillia residents, and one Midland resident.

Since the start of the pandemic, the local health unit has confirmed 4,756 cases of COVID-19 with 3,363 of those cases recovered and 90 cases ending in death. There are more than 1,200 active, lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the region, with the majority of those in Simcoe County.

There are at least 37 people from Simcoe County hospitalized.

As of Friday, there have been more than 13,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine administered in Simcoe Muskoka to health care workers in local hospitals, long-term care and retirement homes. More than 420 individuals have received both doses of the vaccine.

The new cases reported in Simcoe County and Muskoka District today include:

• Collingwood (2): A man and a woman between 18 and 34 years old. One case is community-acquired. 
• Clearview (2): A boy under 18 and a man between 45 and 64 years old. The boy's case is reported as community transmission. 
• Barrie (80): Three girls and eight boys under 18, 19 women and nine men between 18 and 34 years old, six women and two men between 35 and 44, eight women and eight men between 45 and 64 years old, one man and three women between 65 and 79 years old, and eight women and five men over 80 years old. Thirty-three cases are outbreak-related, 20 are linked to close contact, and two are reported as community transmission. 
• Innisfil (17): Four boys and a girl under 18, two men and three woman between 18 and 34 years old, one man between 35 and 44 years old, two women and three men between 45 and 64 years old, and a man between 65 and 79 years old. Eight cases are reportedly linked to close contact and three are outbreak-related. 
• Bradford West Gwillimbury (20): Two girls and two boys under 18, two men and a woman between 18 and 34 years old, three men between 35 and 44 years old, five men and two women between 45 and 64 years old, and two women and a man between 65 and 79 years old. One case is outbreak-related, seven is linked to close contact, and three are linked to community transmission.
• Orillia (4): A boy under 18, two between 35 and 44 years old, and a woman between 45 and 64 years old. Two cases are outbreak-related and one is linked to close contact.  
• Essa (5): A woman between 18 and 34 years old, a woman between 35 and 44 years old, A woman between 18 and 34 years old (outbreak-related), a woman between 35 and 44 years old (outbreak-related), and a man between 45 and 64 years old. 
• Oro-Medonte (2): A woman between 35 and 44 years old, a woman between 65 and 79 years old. One case is linked to close contact and the other is community-acquired. 
• Springwater (7): Two women between 18 and 34 years old, a woman between 45 and 64 years old, a girl and a boy under 18 (outbreak-related), a man between 45 and 64 years old, and a man between 65 and 79 years old. Two cases were community-acquired. 
• Tiny (3): a woman over 80 (outbreak), and a man and a woman between 45 and 64 years old. 
• Severn (1): A woman between 18 and 34 years old whose case is outbreak-related.
• New Tecumseth (14): Three women and three men between 18 and 34 years old, two men and two women between 35 and 44 years old, a man between 45 and 64 years old, and a woman and two men between 65 and 79 years old. four cases are linked to close contact and five are attributed to community transmission.
• In Muskoka, there are two new cases in Gravenhurst, three in Muskoka Lakes, two in Bracebridge, and one new case in Huntsville. 
• Four cases are listed with location information pending. 

The health unit has also declared COVID outbreaks (all of which are still ongoing) at the following health care facilities: 

• Trillium Manor, Orillia, Dec. 14
• Georgian Manor, Penetanguishene, Dec. 27
• Villa Retirement Lodge, Midland, Jan 2
• Grove Park Home (Aspen), Barrie, Jan. 4
• The Pines Long Term Care Residence (Cedar), Bracebridge, Jan. 5
• Roberta Place (Long-term care home), Barrie, Jan. 8
• Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (Integrated Stroke/Rehab Unit), Barrie, Jan. 9
• Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care (Awenda A&B), Penetanguishene, Jan. 9
• Waterford Retirement Community (phase 2), Barrie, Jan. 12
• Bradford Valley Care Community (facility-wide), Bradford, Jan. 14
• IOOF (Baldwin Lane), Barrie, Jan. 15

The provincial government requires an outbreak be declared at a retirement or long-term care home where one staff or resident tests positive. There does not have to be evidence of spread within the home for an outbreak to be declared. In most other cases, the health unit does not declare an outbreak unless there is evidence of transmission at the facility. 

*Incidence rate is number of cases per 100,000 people for the week of Jan. 3.

**Total cases includes the number of cases currently recovering at home as well as any that have recovered, died, or are in hospital