Ontario reports 959 new COVID-19 cases, seven more deaths
Ontario health officials are reporting 959 new cases of COVID-19 and seven more deaths due to the disease.
This past week, officials reported 788 new cases on Monday, 687 new cases on Tuesday, and 780 new cases on Wednesday.
The last time the province reported more than 900 new infections in a single day was on Sunday.
Ontario’s rolling seven-day average now stands at 851, up from 692 at this point last week.
With 38,480 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the positivity rate in the province stands at about 2.9 per cent.
Of the new infections reported Thursday, 530 cases involved people who are either unvaccinated, partially vaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown. The remaining 429 infections involved people who are fully vaccinated.
The province recorded seven more deaths on Thursday, bringing the total death tally in the province to 10,012.
There are currently at least 291 people being treated for COVID-19 in hospital. Health Minister Christine Elliott says that of those patients, 241 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status and 50 are fully vaccinated.
At least 155 patients are in intensive care in Ontario hospitals and 85 are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.
The province deemed 770 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Thursday, bringing Ontario’s number of recovered patients up to 603,285.
Today’s report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 620,229, including deaths and recoveries.
WHERE ARE THE NEW COVID-19 CASES IN ONTARIO?
In the Greater Toronto Area, officials reported 118 new cases in Toronto, 75 new cases in Peel Region, 53 new cases in York Region, 42 new cases in Halton Region and 21 new cases in Durham Region.
Officials reported 91 new cases in Windsor-Essex, 59 new cases in Ottawa, 36 new cases in the Kingston area, 35 new cases in Algoma District and 32 new cases each in Niagara Region and the Sudbury area. All other regions reported fewer than 30 new cases.
According to the province’s epidemiology report, of the 959 new infections reported on Thursday, 222 cases were identified in children under the age of 12.
The province also recorded 83 cases in youth between the ages of 12 and 19 and another 285 cases in people between the ages of 20 and 39.
As well, officials found 237 cases in people between the ages of 40 and 59, 119 cases in people between the ages of 60 and 79 and 11 cases in people over the age of 80.
On Thursday, officials reported 164 new cases in Ontario schools, including 148 cases involving students and 15 cases involving staff. Officials did not release information about the remaining one case.
The province reported that 761 out of 4,844 schools have at least one case of COVID-19. Currently, 10 schools are closed due to outbreaks.
As of Thursday, five cases of the new Omicron variant have been identified in Ontario. The latest case was reported in Durham Region.
Background
The numbers used in this story are found in the Ontario Ministry of Health's COVID-19 Daily Epidemiologic Summary. The number of cases for any city or region may differ slightly from what is reported by the province, because local units report figures at different times. Health experts have said the number of COVID-19 infections identified in fully vaccinated individuals will naturally increase as more people get both of their shots.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
BREAKING Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, claims he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women in Winnipeg, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Trudeau Liberals to unveil new bill Monday aimed at countering foreign interference
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be tabling legislation on Monday aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada. Federal officials have scheduled a technical briefing on the incoming bill for Monday afternoon.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Human remains were found at a former Hitler base, but decay prevents determining the cause of death
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Ontario MPP asked again to leave Ontario legislature over keffiyeh, Speaker loosens ban
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Trump fined US$1,000 for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial fined him US$1,000 on Monday for violating his gag order once again and sternly warned the former president that additional violations could result in jail time.