The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit confirmed 15 new COVID-19 cases in the region on Thursday, bringing the local total case count up to 12,468, including 255 deaths.
Local public health also reported nine new cases of a COVID-19 variant on Thursday, bringing that total to 5,108, including 41 that are active.
Nine of the new cases are in Barrie, while four are in Essa and two are in Innisfil.
Four of the new cases are community-acquired, while three are a result of close contact with another positive COVID-19 case, one is outbreak-related and another is travel-related.
The rest of the new cases are still under investigation.
Meanwhile, 70 per cent of the region’s population has received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 61.3 per cent has received both necessary doses.
Of the region’s total 12,468 COVID-19 cases, 97 per cent — or 12,129 — have recovered, while two people are currently in hospital.
On Thursday, Ontario reported 513 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the provincial total up to 553,962, including 9,412 deaths.