Barrie man dies after contracting COVID

The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit has reported 21 new COVID-19 cases and one death today for the Aug. 20 update.

A Barrie man between 45 and 64 years old died on Aug. 17 after contracting COVID-19. This is the first death reported in the region for the month of August. 

New cases reported today include: 

• Wasaga Beach (1): One youth under 18 years old whose case is linked to close contact transmission.
• Barrie (4): Two people between 18 and 34 years old, one person between 35 and 44 years old, and one person between 45 and 64 years old. Two cases are linked to close contact transmission, and two are still under investigation.
• Bradford (2):  One youth under 18 years old and one person between 35 and 44 years old. Both cases are reported as close contact transmission. 
• Innisfil (6): Two youth under 18 years old, one person between 18 and 34 years old, two people between 35 and 44 years old, and one person between 45 and 64 years old. Transmission sources for all six cases are still under investigation.
• Orillia (5): Three people between 18 and 34 years old, and two people between 35 and 44 years old. One case is listed as community-acquired (no known link), and two are listed as close contact transmission. The rest are still under investigation. 
• Ramara (1): One person between 18 and 34 years old whose case transmission is still under investigation. 
• New Tecumseth (1): One person between 18 and 34 years old whose case is listed as community-acquired (no known link). 
• Adjala-Tosorontio (1):  One person between 18 and 34 years old whose case is listed as community-acquired. 

There are currently 139 active cases in the region.

There are two outbreaks in Simcoe County, including one at a childcare setting involving five cases, and one at a food and beverage service workplace with two cases. 

Two people from Simcoe County are hospitalized with COVID-19. There have been zero new hospitalizations since yesterday's report. 

The health unit has confirmed 5,216 of the region's cases were variant strains. There are 75 lab-confirmed variant cases still active.

The variant case breakdown includes: 

• 4,004 alpha cases,
• 167 gamma cases, 
• 34 beta cases,
• 324 delta cases,
• and 678 cases have screened positive and are awaiting further testing.

Since the start of the pandemic, the local health unit has confirmed 12,603 cases of COVID-19 with 12,208 of those cases recovered and 256 cases ending in death.

According to the health unit, 72 per cent of the population 12 years and older living in Simcoe-Muskoka have received both doses of vaccine and another nine per cent have had their first vaccine dose. The remaining 20 per cent is unvaccinated.

Approximately 29 per cent of the total population of Simcoe-Muskoka (including children) is unvaccinated and 62 per cent is fully vaccinated. 

For more on the vaccination status of Simcoe-Muskoka cases and hospitalizations, click here.

Anyone born in 2009 or earlier living in Simcoe-Muskoka region can book their first or second dose of vaccine online via Ontario vaccine booking system. More appointments are added regularly for clinics throughout the region.

The health unit does sometimes remove a case or move them based on further investigation of location data. The chart below reflects updated totals for each municipality as reported by the health unit on Aug. 20.

******

*Cumulative incidence rate is the number of cases per 100,000 people reported to date

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