BARRIE, ONT. The City of Barrie will ring in the New Year with a virtual celebration. The year 2021 will arrive during a lockdown, meaning no big stage, no thousands of people in a crowd. But, some familiar faces are taking part in the digital celebration, including Canadian performers Splash and Boots, and Mayor Jeff Lehman will hold a family countdown. The online event starts at 7 p.m. on Thursday and will run for one hour on the city s website. You ll see Facebook or YouTube and the same way you would tune in to watch our Barrie City Council, and you can take in the show, says Steve Lee-Young.
BARRIE, ONT. Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) in Barrie and Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket are among 17 Ontario hospitals the province says will receive the next batch of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of the year. The additional hospitals announced Friday join Toronto s University Health Network and the Ottawa Hospital in giving the vaccine to health care workers. A COVID-19 Immunization Clinic will open in Barrie in the Sperling Drive RVH COVID-19 Testing and Assessment Centre in anticipation of the vaccine. This is wonderful news for all of us and cause for real optimism, but it is a complex endeavour, said Dr. Charles Gardner, Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit s medical officer of health. It will take some time for us, working together with our partners, to roll out mass immunization for all of our residents who want it.