Today, the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) reported one new case of COVID-19 in the Huntsville area, a 45-64 year-old woman whose infection is travel-related.
Of the 28 cases in Huntsville to date, five have been in November and more than two-thirds (20) have been within the past three months. Two are active; none are currently in hospital.
There have been a total of 95 cases in Muskoka to date (seven of them currently active) and 2,019 in Simcoe County. (For a full list of Huntsville and Lake of Bays cases to date, and other COVID-19 updates for the area, visit our COVID-19 page.)
Simcoe Muskoka was moved into the orange “Restrict” level of the province’s COVID-19 response framework on November 28. A day later, SMDHU’s medical officer of health, Dr. Charles Gardner, asked residents to step up their efforts to help lower transmission rates and reinforced the province’s COVID-19 requirements for businesses in a letter to local business owners.
Dr. Gardner also sent a letter to municipalities within the health unit’s catchment area last week suggesting that they prohibit access to their recreational facilities to individuals whose primary residence lies within the Red/Control and Grey/Lockdown areas. The Town of Huntsville has not yet said if it will follow this advice.
For more COVID-19 information from the health unit, visit simcoemuskokahealth.org.
Don’t miss out on Doppler!
Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox three times per week!
Sandra Rae says
4 cases in Huntsville in November. Don’t shut down all the small business, who have very few customers at any one time. We have not eaten out since last March, but eating in a restaurant with all the Covid precautions is probably a better social outlet than a private gathering in a home, with no precautions. Mental health, and economic health are just as important as physical health. We need a balancing act for everything.
Brenda Begg says
Sandra, I agree. And, shuttering our town’s businesses would not benefit anyone. Small businesses and most larger businesses in Huntsville are following protocol. My thanks and gratitude go to all businesses who follow recommended protocol to keep staff and customers safe. These are the businesses that I support. Shop local.