Ontario now has 34 cases of the UK coronavirus variant
5:44 pm Provincial public health officials have now confirmed there are 34 cases of the UK coronavirus variant in Ontario.
In addition to evidence indicating the virus is more transmissible, officials say there is more recent evidence to suggest that “it might cause more severe disease in some individuals.”
The province had confirmed 15 cases of the UK variant, known as B117, as of last Thursday. Over the weekend, officials in Simcoe Muskoka found six cases in the Roberta Place long-term care home, and another one at at Bradford Valley Care Community.
All positive samples from January 20 are now being tested to give public health officials a snapshot of how prevalent the UK variant is in Ontario.
A seventh person infected with a highly-contagious coronavirus variant from the UK has been linked to a second long-term care home outbreak in the Simcoe-Muskoka public health region, officials said Sunday.
Health unit reports 112 new COVID cases in the county today, including 65 in Barrie
Health officials also release more information on the deaths that have been linked to Roberta Place outbreak in Barrie
Jan 22, 2021 2:57 PM By: Erika Engel
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit offices are located on Sperling Drive in north-end Barrie. Raymond Bowe/BarrieToday
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit has reported 112 new COVID-19 cases in the region today, and seven deaths.
All seven deaths, which were previously reported by
BarrieToday, were residents of Roberta Place long-term care home in Barrie. They include a man and a woman over 80 years old who died on Jan. 21, three women over 80 who died on Jan. 20, a woman between 65 and 79 years old who died on Jan. 20 and a man over 80 who died Jan. 10.
BARRIE, ONT. Ontario s hospitals are calling for stricter lockdowns in regions hard-hit by COVID-19, which could potentially include Simcoe Muskoka. The Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) is asking the government to implement a four-week lockdown in every region in the red zone of the COVID-19 framework. The request comes one day after Ontario told hospitals to prepare for an influx of patients as COVID-19 cases surge across the province. The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit s (SMDHU) medical officer of health, Dr. Charles Gardner, said earlier this week that the region s average daily growth in confirmed cases is 1.8 per cent. Gardner said that if the infection rate doesn t slow, the number of cases will double.
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Rogers has expanded its 5G network to reach nine new communities in Ontario, including Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes.
“I am pleased that Rogers is making this important investment in our community by offering this exciting next step in telecommunications technology,” Bracebridge Mayor Graydon Smith said. “5G will help Bracebridge continue its growth, allowing our citizens and businesses to be connected to the rest of the world with near-instantaneous speed.”
“The technological transformation that 5G brings will change the way Canadians connect to the world around them,” Chief Technology Officer at Rogers Communications Jorge Fernandes said. “5G networks will be a critical building block for Canadian entrepreneurs and researchers to build world-class applications that will fuel productivity and innovation for Ontario and the country. This next generation technology will provide the digital platform and capabilities that our industrie