Health unit reports second Collingwood resident succumbs to COVID-19

A resident from the Collingwood apartment building in outbreak has died after contracting COVID-19. 

Today, the health unit reported the death of a man between 56 and 79 years old from Collingwood whose case is linked to the ongoing outbreak at the apartment building. He died yesterday.

He is the second Collingwood resident to die after contracting COVID-19. The first death was a woman between 65 and 79 years old whose case was sporadic (not linked to an outbreak). She died on Jan. 1 and her death was reported Jan. 15.

There are two ongoing outbreaks in town, both of which have been linked to variant strains of COVID-19.

An outbreak at an apartment building declared on Feb. 5, remains at 24 total cases (no new cases this week). Last week the health unit confirmed one case has tested positive for the B.1.1.7 variant strain that originated in the UK and at least 14 more have screened positive for a variant strain with further testing required to confirm the strain. 

At Georgian Traditions Retirement home there is one staff case, which prompted an outbreak declaration on Feb. 7. Yesterday, Dr. Charles Gardner, medical officer of health for Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, reported the case has screened positive for a variant strain, with further testing required to confirm which variant strain it is. 

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The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit has reported 48 new COVID-19 cases and two deaths in its update today, Feb. 18.

The two deaths reported today include a woman over 80 from Bradford whose case was linked to the outbreak at Bradford Valley Care Community. She died on Feb. 15. 

The second death is a man between 56 and 79 years old from Collingwood whose case is linked to the outbreak at an apartment complex in town. He died Feb. 17.

There have been no new outbreaks declared at long-term care or retirement homes, and as of today, the deadly outbreak at Roberta Place in Barrie is over.  The health unit has also declared some of the outbreaks impacting certain units at the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre over today, with one ongoing in the cancer palliative unit at the Barrie hospital. 

According to the health unit, 168 local cases have tested positive for the B.1.1.7 variant that originated in the UK and an additional 156 cases have screened positive (awaiting confirmatory testing). This is an increase of eight cases over yesterday's confirmed variant cases. According to the health unit, six of the confirmed B.1.1.7 cases reported today are sporadic, and two are linked to active outbreaks. 

Since the start of the pandemic, the local health unit has confirmed 6,071 cases of COVID-19 with 5,239 of those cases recovered and 182 cases ending in death. There are 607 active, lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the region, with the majority of those in Simcoe County. 

There are 23 people from Simcoe County hospitalized with COVID-19. There have been two new hospitalizations since yesterday's update. 

The health unit has administered 29,063 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 in Simcoe Muskoka to health care workers in local hospitals, long-term care and retirement homes, as well as to all eligible long-term care home residents. The health unit reports more than 12,500 people in the region have received both required doses of the vaccine. 

The new cases reported in Simcoe County and Muskoka District today include (case transmission is under investigation unless otherwise specified): 

• Collingwood (1): A girl under 18 whose case is linked to close contact. 
• Clearview (4): Three youth under 18 and an individual between 18 and 34 years old. All four cases are linked to recent travel. 
• Barrie (25): Two girls and a boy under 18, two individuals, four women, and eight men between 18 and 34 years old, two men between 35 and 44 years old, three men between 45 and 64 years old, and a woman and two men between 65 and 79 years old. Four cases are listed as community-acquired and 15 are linked to close contact.
• Innisfil (1): A woman between 35 and 44 years old.
• Bradford West Gwillimbury (2): A woman between 35 and 44 years old and a man between 45 and 64 years old. One case is linked to close contact. 
• Midland (2): A man between 18 and 34 years old and a woman between 45 and 64 years old. One case is outbreak-related. 
• Essa (3): A girl under 18, and a woman and a man between 18 and 34 years old. All three cases are linked to close contact.  
• New Tecumseth (7): Two girls and a boy under 18, a woman and a man between 18 and 34 years old, a man between 35 and 44 years old, and a man between 65 and 79 years old. Six cases are linked to close contact and one is attributed to community transmission.
• Adjala-Tosorontio (1): A man between 18 and 34 years old. 
• There are two cases in Muskoka, both from Huntsville. 

For a list of ongoing outbreaks at long-term care and retirement homes and hospitals in the region, click here.

For more on the local trajectory of COVID-19 from the health unit, click here.

*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