Covid 19 Update January 22

COVID-19 Update from Mayor Wade Mills

January 22, 2021

There were 2,662 new COVID-19 cases reported in Ontario today and our seven-day average of daily cases has now been decreasing for 11 consecutive days.  Province-wide, our cumulative reported totals now sit at 250,226 cases, 219,262 resolved cases, 5,701 reported deaths, and 1,512 patients currently hospitalized. It is also being reported that there are currently 383 patients currently in ICU and 291 of those are on ventilators.

Within the Wellington Dufferin Guelph Public Health region, we have seen an additional 70 new cases reported since yesterday. We currently have 460 active cases throughout the region and 11 health unit residents in hospital. Within Dufferin County specifically, we have had only three new cases reported within the last 24-hour period and our current active case count stands at 41 which is down from last week. Headwaters Healthcare Centre is reporting that they currently have four patients with COVID-19 but only two Dufferin County residents are being reported hospitalized with the virus. Public Health is also reporting that three active cases currently exist within the Town of Shelburne.

The Province continues to remain in “lockdown” with the mandatory “Stay-at-Home” orders in effect. This past Wednesday, I was joined by out local MPP and Ontario’s Solicitor General Sylvia Jones, as well as our MP Kyle Seeback, for a virtual townhall meeting focused on small businesses. We had close to 40 people register for the event and I think that we had a robust discussion. Hopefully our business community was able to take away some important information and that we were able to convey some of our local concerns to our provincial and federal representatives.

Our local Public-School Board has advised parents today that schools will remain closed to in-person learning until further notice but at least until February 11^th. It is clear that the return to school date as well as any possible extensions of the online learning program will be dictated by the province.

This continues to be a challenging time and I am happy to see that our local numbers are looking more promising. I ask for your continued patience and continued resolve as we all do our collective best to work through this.

Stay strong and be well.

Mayor Wade Mills