The medical officer of health for the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit says he is seriously contemplating imposing additional public health measures, including reducing the number of people who are allowed to gather privately, in an effort to combat a surge of COVID-19 infections in the area.

Speaking during a briefing on Wednesday afternoon, Dr. Charles Gardner said additional restrictions may be necessary to help bring transmission under control in the region, which, according to provincial data, saw 82 new infections today, the third highest daily case count next to Toronto, which logged 124 new cases today and Ottawa, which reported 92.

Medical officers of health in other regions in the province, including Kingston and Sudbury, have used Section 22 orders to reinstate capacity and gathering limits that were eased provincially.

While the province currently allows 25 people to attend private gatherings indoors, Kingston has lowered that number to 10.

Gardner said he is considering a similar measure for municipalities in Simcoe Muskoka.

"It is never a light decision to put in place that kind of restriction, " he said.

"We do need to be assured that it is the right thing to do."

He said the province has left it up to municipalities to decide whether to implement additional public health measures but offered little guidance about what measures should be implemented and when.

Gardner noted that he is in touch with other regions that have used Section 22 orders for advice.

According to Public Health Ontario, during the week ending on Dec. 4, the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit had a weekly COVID-19 case rate of 97.8 per 100,000 people. During the same period, the provincewide case rate was 44.4 per 100,000 people.

In a news release issued today, the health unit confirmed that it is investigating a cluster of seven COVID-19 cases in Simcoe County that have a "strong probability" of being the Omicron variant.

The cluster, the news release read, is linked to travellers who arrived to Simcoe County from Nigeria in late November.

Gardner urged people to take it upon themselves to limit their social contacts in the coming days and weeks, suggesting that if case rates drop in the region, a Section 22 order may not be required.

"It is a situation of great concern," he said. "We are getting ready but at this point, I have not yet taken this action."