Ontario reports lowest COVID-19 positivity rate since end of February
Ontario is reporting another 13 deaths related to COVID-19 as the positivity rate in the province continues to slowly decline.
On Saturday, officials said that just over 12,000 PCR tests have yielded a positivity rate of about 8.9 per cent. This is the lowest positivity rate the province has seen since the end of February.
The majority of Ontario residents cannot be properly tested for COVID-19 due to restrictions put in place by the government.
Wastewater data provided by the province’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table appears to show a continued decline in infection in most regions, although northern Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area appear to be seeing a small uptick.
Twelve of the 13 COVID-19 deaths have occurred over the last month while the remaining case was added to the cumulative total due to data catchup.
In total, 13,159 people have lost their lives after contracting the disease.
Officials say there are 1,116 people in hospital with the novel coronavirus, including 160 in intensive care.
Just under half of ICU patients are being treated for COVID-19 while the remaining patients tested positive after being admitted for other ailments.
Nearly 39 per cent of all hospitalizations are the direct result of a COVID-19 diagnosis.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Ontario has logged 1,294,447 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19.
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.