COVID-19 case numbers in Ontario remain below 200 for ninth straight day

TORONTO -

Health officials in Ontario are reporting fewer than 200 new cases of COVID-19 for the ninth day in a row.

The 176 cases logged Saturday mark a slight increase over Friday’s total when 159 were added.

This brings Ontario’s lab-confirmed COVID-19 case total to 548,040, including 537,379 recoveries and 9,288 deaths—three of which were recorded in the last 24 hours.

At least 21,392 tests were processed in the previous day, yielding a positivity rate of 0.6 per cent, according to the Ministry of Health.

The seven-day average for the number of new cases reported across the province is 151. A week ago, that number was 188.

Right now, there are 143 patients in hospital with COVID-19 and 149 patients are receiving treatment in intensive care. The hospitalization data presented by the province has been consistently skewed over the last several weeks, which may be explained by a delay in reporting.  

Where are the new COVID-19 cases?

Most of the cases reported by the province Saturday were found in Toronto (37), Peel Region (20), and Waterloo (20).

Other regions that reported case numbers in the double digits include Grey Bruce (15), York Region (11), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (10), Halton (10).

Ontario entered Step 3 of its reopening plan on Friday, which allows for indoor dining, as well as gyms and movie theatres, to reopen with capacity limits in place.

The province will remain in this stage for at least 21 days. 

Update on COVID-19 variants of concern

Labs confirmed another 132 cases of the Delta variant B.1.617.2 in the last 24 hours, bringing the strain’s case total to 3,282.

Additionally, 11 other cases of the Alpha variant B.1.1.7 were found. At least 144,792 cases of that variant have been reported since the province began tracking its spread in February.

There was one other case of the Gamma variant P.1 reported. There are 4,951 confirmed cases of that variant in Ontario.

No new cases of the Beta variant B.1.351 were logged in the previous day. The case total remains at 1,465.

Ontario nears 18 millions doses administered

The province says it has administered 17,979,575 doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it began its vaccination campaign in December.

That number includes 7.7 million residents who have received both their first and second doses and are considered to be fully vaccinated.

Nearly 170,000 of those jabs went into arms on Friday alone.