A look at the local COVID-19 numbers
Public Health Sudbury & Districts say there have been 90 new cases of COVID-19 in the last three days, one in the Manitoulin District, two in the Sudbury District and the rest in the Greater Sudbury area.
Considering resolved cases, there are now 265 active cases in the agency’s jurisdiction.
Health Sciences North is reporting there are 39 admitted patients, 20 which are confirmed cases and 19 waiting for test results.
Of the 39, ten are in intensive care.
And Algoma Public Health is reporting three new cases over the weekend bringing the total of active cases to 24, one of which is an individual that does not reside in the district but is receiving treatment locally.
All three new cases are from the Sault Ste. Marie area.
Currently, there is only one person hospitalized.
Several outbreaks in Sudbury
Public Health Sudbury & Districts has declared several outbreaks over the weekend.
On Friday, an outbreak was declared at Confederation Secondary School and students and staff must self-isolate up until and including March 26th due to confirmed cases.
The agency is advising the public of a potential high-risk of exposure to COVID-19 for anyone who attended RondezVous Hair Salon on Lasalle Boulevard in Greater Sudbury from March 1st to March 11th.
There was also an outbreak at the 323 Second Avenue North apartment building in Greater Sudbury declared on Saturday for anyone who visited the building as of March 6th.
And yesterday, an outbreak was declared at Extendicare Falconbridge affecting the second and third floors of the facility.
Anyone who visited any of these locations is asked to self-isolate and if they develop symptoms to get tested for the virus.
The eligibility list expands today
The eligibility list for vaccine appointments is being expanded in Ontario again today.
Starting today, people 75 and older will be able to book their appointments through the provincial portal.
As well, more than 300 pharmacies in Toronto, Windsor-Essex, and Kingston public health units will begin offering inoculations to those 60 and older who will be getting the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Provincial officials hope to expand the list of pharmacies to more than 700 in the next two weeks, and by 15-hundred by the end of next month.
The stepped-up vaccination rate comes as our province reports almost 18-hundred new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, the third day in a row the number has topped 17-hundred.
Eighteen deaths were also recorded.
Shipments coming in
It’s a big week for vaccine shipments in Canada.
Federal officials expect slightly more than two million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to arrive this week, the first time shipments have exceeded the two-million mark.
As well, the 1.5-million AstraZeneca doses promised by the U-S government could arrive this week.
Death rate dropping among seniors
Canada’s chief medical officer of health says the increasing pace of COVID-19 vaccination programs has sharply cut the death rate among people 80 and older.
But Doctor Theresa Tam notes that infection rates are increasing again, as the country enters the third wave of infections.
Tam says the greatest rate of increase is in those aged 20 to 39, a mobile population that spread the virus widely if they’re not careful.
She adds that concern is heightened by the spread of the more-contagious variants of concern.