13 new coronavirus cases, 1 new death reported in Simcoe Muskoka as local total surpasses 800

Ontario’s Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit reported 13 new cases of the novel coronavirus and one new COVID-19 death on Friday, bringing the local total number of cases to 803, including 38 deaths.

Six of the new cases are in Barrie, while two are in Bradford. The rest are in Gravenhurst, Huntsville, Innisfil, New Tecumseth and Orillia.

Two of the cases are a result of close contact with another positive COVID-19 case, while the rest are under investigation.

One of the new cases involves a child, while five involve people who are between the ages of 18 and 34. Four cases involve people are between the ages of 35 and 44, while three involve people between the ages of 45 and 64.

One new COVID-19 outbreak has also been declared at the Leacock Retirement Lodge in Orillia, Ont.

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Amid the region’s uptick in cases, public health is recommending people to reduce their social circles to household members only and to limit social gatherings.

This week, the health unit has reported 55 COVID-19 cases, which is the second-highest weekly number that has been reported since the beginning of the pandemic.

Of the health unit’s total 803 cases, 85 per cent — or 685 — have recovered, while two people remain in hospital. Of all the region’s cases, 19 per cent are related to local institutional outbreaks.

There are two current coronavirus outbreaks in the region — one at Leacock and another at a workplace in Muskoka.

According to the health unit, there have been 22 COVID-19 outbreaks in the region in total.

On Friday, Ontario reported 401 new coronavirus cases, bringing the local total number of cases up to 46,077, including 2,825 deaths.

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