COVID 19 Update March 12, 2021

COVID-19 Update from Mayor Wade Mills March 12, 2021

There were 1,371 new COVID-19 cases reported in Ontario today.  Province-wide, our cumulative reported totals are now 314,891 cases, 296,252 resolved cases, 7,127 reported deaths, and 676 patients currently hospitalized. It is also being reported that there are currently 282 patients currently in ICU and 189 of those are on ventilators – both of which are up slightly from last Friday

Within the Wellington Dufferin Guelph Public Health region, we have seen an additional nine new cases reported since yesterday. We currently have 125 active cases throughout the region which is down from last Friday. There are currently 18 health unit residents in hospital. Within Dufferin County specifically, we have had only three new cases reported within the last 24-hour period. Our current active case count stands at 31 for the county but no Dufferin County residents are being reported as in hospital. Headwaters Healthcare Centre however, is reporting that they do have two COVID-19-positive patients. Within the Town of Shelburne, it is reported that we currently have nine residents who are positive.

A new status report from Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table provides a good news/bad news scenario. While cases of the original strain of COVID-19 are decreasing, cases associated with the new variants are on the rise. The report found that 42% of all current cases are associated with the variants. The possibility for a potential third wave is a realistic threat as the spread of the variants is characterized as a “pandemic within a pandemic”. This fear has some medical officials calling for a final round of restrictions until more vaccinations can be administered but at the very least, it is clear that we all must remain cautious and vigilant.

Fortunately, progress continues to be made on the vaccination front both locally and provincially. Yesterday we crossed the 1 million mark for vaccinations within Ontario which is encouraging. The province has also begun to roll out some vaccines to pharmacies in Toronto, Kingston and Windsor. Locally, our public health unit continues to make amazing strides. We have our own local online registration system which can be accessed at  https://register.wdgpublichealth.ca which is independent from the provincial registry which will not be operational until March 15^th. Our local system is now allowing registrations for those slated to be vaccinated under Phase 2 including residents who are 60+ as well as essential workers who are not able to work from home. If you fall into any of those categories, I encourage you to access the link above and get registered right away.

I hope that you are all enjoying the sunshine and hope that you have a great weekend!

Be well,

Mayor Wade Mills