The latest COVID update from the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, published March 23, includes three new deaths and four new hospitalizations.
The three deaths reported today include a Simcoe County and a Muskoka District man, both between 65 and 79, and both of whom died on March 20. The third death reported was a woman over 79 years old from Simcoe County who died on March 22. Her case was outbreak-related.
The health unit has reported 53 deaths in February, and 16 so far in March.
There are 20 people from the region currently hospitalized because of COVID-19.
Testing has captured 214 new COVID cases in the region since the last update on March 21. Because testing is not available to everyone, case counts are underestimated.
Last week the health unit reported 590 new cases, seven new hospitalizations and three new deaths, which is a decrease from the week of March 6, which brought 433 new cases, 11 new hospitalizations and five deaths. So far this week, the health unit has confirmed 231 new cases, one new hospitalization and three deaths.
Since the start of the pandemic, the local health unit has confirmed 37,445 cases of COVID-19 with 36,117 of those cases recovered and 434 cases ending in death.
Of the deaths reported by the health unit since March 2020, 382 deaths were COVID-related, 41 deaths were not related to COVID-19 but the person tested positive, and for 11 of them, the cause of death is unknown or pending.
Based on data collected since July in Simcoe-Muskoka, the rate of hospitalization from COVID-19 is four times higher for unvaccinated people than for vaccinated. The rate of admission to an intensive care unit is eight times higher for unvaccinated people, and the rate of death is three times higher for an unvaccinated person versus someone with two or more doses of a vaccine.
There are 23 active outbreaks in Simcoe-Muskoka, up from 15 outbreaks on March 16. The current active outbreaks include nine in institutional settings (hospitals, long-term care, retirement homes), 10 in congregate settings (group homes, shelters), and four at child-care centres.
The health unit is no longer reporting case counts associated with individual outbreaks. A list of outbreaks is available on the health unit website here.
According to monitoring of the region's hospitals by the health unit, about 54 per cent of the region's ICU beds are full and about 10 per cent of the ventilator beds are occupied. Acute care occupancy is highest with 89 per cent of the beds in the region currently full.
According to Collingwood General and Marine Hospital reporting as of March 21, there are two COVID-positive inpatients at the hospital. This can include people admitted because of COVID and those hospitalized for other reasons who also test positive for COVID in addition to anyone receiving care at the hospital who contracted COVID through the outbreak.
