BARRIE, ONT. It s been one year since the World Health Organization first warned about the threat of a new virus. At that time, 41 people had been diagnosed with COVID-19. One year later, Simcoe Muskoka logs its deadliest week associated with the virus since the pandemic started. On Friday, the health unit reported that another four infected people passed away, bringing the region s death toll to 86. Fifteen people have passed away with the virus since Monday. A deadly outbreak at Roberta Place in Barrie claimed the lives of six residents, and the facility reports more than 70 residents and staff members have been diagnosed.
BARRIE, ONT. The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit reports 226 new cases and two recent deaths over the last three days. The health unit says a man between the ages of 65 and 79 connected to an out-of-region outbreak died Jan. 6. A woman older than 80 passed away Friday. She had been a patient at Georgian Bay General Hospital and is the seventh death associated with an outbreak declared at the Midland facility in early December. Seventy-three people with the virus have died in Simcoe Muskoka since the pandemic began, and the region has seen a total of 4,309 infections. There are 1,271 active cases. Thirty-five people with the virus are in hospitals across the region, including five in intensive care at the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre.