Ontario logs 1,429 new cases of COVID-19, positivity rate continues to climb

Health officials in Ontario are reporting 1,429 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday as the positivity rate for the disease climbs higher.

With 33,400 tests processed in the last 24-hour period, the Ministry of Health said that Ontario’s COVID-19 positivity rate is currently 6.6 per cent -- the highest level recorded since May 18 when it reached 7.6 per cent.

Tuesday’s positivity rate marks a significant jump from the 5.5 per cent logged a day earlier.

Right now, the seven-day average for the number of cases reported in Ontario is 1,400, up from 975 this time last week.

As well, five more deaths related to the novel coronavirus were recorded in the last 24 hours, pushing Ontario’s COVID-19 death toll to 10,084.

Most of the cases reported Tuesday were found in fully vaccinated individuals with 809 testing positive. At least 493 other infections were found in those who are unvaccinated and 33 were found in those who are partially vaccinated. The vaccination status of the remaining 94 people who tested positive is unknown.

Of the 385 patients in hospital with a COVID-19-related illness, 130 are unvaccinated, 85 are fully vaccinated and 12 are partially vaccinated. No vaccination data was provided for the remaining 158 patients.

In the ICU, 71 patients currently receiving care are unvaccinated, 31 are fully vaccinated, and six are partially vaccinated. The vaccination status of the remaining 54 patients was not disclosed.

Ontario has seen 635,112 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 throughout the pandemic, including deaths and 612,996 recoveries.

WHERE ARE THE NEW COVID-19 CASES?

According to government data, most of the cases reported Tuesday were found in Toronto (239), York Region (128), and Ottawa (120).

Other areas that reported high case numbers include Peel Region (103), Kingston (85), Middlesex-London (84), and Durham Region (74).

Meanwhile, 550 cases were reported in schools across Ontario, 473 of which were found in students and 61 in staff members. The 16 remaining cases were not identified.

Of the province’s 4,844 schools, 1,019 have at least one confirmed case of COVID-19 and 28 facilities are closed as a result.

UPDATE ON COVID-19 VACCINATIONS

On the one-year anniversary of the start of Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign, 90.3 per cent of residents over the age of 12 have one dose and 87.6 per cent have two doses.

Ontario began administering the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 14 2020. Since then, more than 24,584,000 jabs have ben administered throughout the province.