The COVID-19 virus is hanging on in Simcoe-Muskoka, with little increase or decrease in hospitalizations and deaths but some drop in cases confirmed through testing.
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit confirmed seven more deaths and 19 new hospitalizations in its latest update.
All seven of the recent deaths were Simcoe County residents, including two men between 65 and 79 years old and three men and two women over 79 years old. All seven died between Aug. 28 and Sept. 12. Three deaths were connected to outbreaks.
Twenty-six people in the region died in August after contracting COVID-19. There were 26 deaths reported in July, and six deaths reported in September so far.
There are 32 area residents currently hospitalized because of COVID-19. By hospitalization date, there were 19 COVID patients admitted during the week of Aug. 28 to Sept. 3, and 16 admitted during the week of Sept. 4 to 10. There have been two patients hospitalized so far this week. (Sept. 11-14). There can be delays in reporting hospitalizations for the weekly updates from the health unit.
Based on the latest health unit update, posted Sept. 15, there were 262 new COVID cases confirmed in Simcoe-Muskoka region since last week. There were 251 cases reported to the health unit during the week of Sept. 4, which is a decrease of 29 per cent compared to the 356 cases reported for the week of Aug. 28.
The seven-day moving average for new cases indicates there are about 33-34 new COVID cases per day in the region.
Case counts are underestimated as testing is limited.
The per cent positivity rate in the region is 10.9 per cent, indicating that current testing is not catching all of the COVID cases in the region. The health unit's goal is a per cent positivity of about one per cent or less to indicate good test coverage.
There are 29 active outbreaks in the region, including 22 at institutional settings like hospitals or long-term care homes, and seven at congregate settings like group homes and shelters.
Since the start of the pandemic, the local health unit has confirmed 50,312 cases of COVID-19, with 49,231 of those cases recovered and 567 cases ending in death.
Of the deaths reported by the health unit since March 2020, 480 were COVID-19-related, 79 deaths were not related to COVID-19 but the person tested positive, and for eight of them, the cause of death is unknown or pending.
To date, 83 per cent of the population aged five years old and up are fully vaccinated with two or more doses, and 18 per cent of the region’s total population (including children) is unvaccinated.
According to monitoring of the region’s hospitals by the health unit, 60 per cent of the region’s ICU beds are full and 29 per cent of the ventilator beds are occupied. Acute care occupancy is highest with 92 per cent of the beds in the region currently full.
Wastewater monitoring in Penetanguishene and Barrie shows a decrease in COVID-19 virus DNA. Samples from Midland, Orillia, and Collingwood show COVID-19 virus DNA as present in each of the communities, but there's been no increase or decrease noted in the last week. Sampling from Bracebridge indicates an increase in the COVID-19 virus DNA in the community.
Anyone who has not yet received their COVID-19 vaccination or booster doses is encouraged to do so as soon as they are eligible. Information about eligibility and clinic locations is available at smdhu.org/GetVaccinated.
