Ontario logs 508 new COVID-19 cases, 7-day average continues to climb

TORONTO -

Ontario is reporting more than 500 new COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row.

Health officials logged 508 new infections on Saturday, marking a slight decrease from the 563 cases on Friday.

This is the first time since early October in which officials have recorded more than 500 cases for two consecutive days.

Ontario reported 438 cases on Thursday, 378 cases on Wednesday and 331 cases on Tuesday.

The province's seven-day average of daily COVID-19 cases now stands at about 426, up significantly from 349 the previous week.

A little over 30,100 COVID-19 tests were processed in the last 24 hours, resulting in a positivity rate of about 1.9 per cent, according to the Ministry of Health.

Three additional COVID-19 deaths were confirmed in the last 24-hour period, but officials also said that three other deaths were removed from the total as a result of data cleaning.

This means that the province's pandemic death tally remains the same at 9,896.

There are 130 people being treated for COVID-19 in Ontario's intensive care units. Of those patients, 115 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.

Health Minister Christine Elliott also tweeted that "due to a technical issue, some COVID-19 vaccination data has been delayed."

The numbers come as more Ontarians become eligible for a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Starting Saturday, seniors aged 70 and up, as well as health-care workers or essential caregivers, will be able to book an appointment for a booster shot.

A third dose can only be taken six months after a second dose.

WHERE ARE THE COVID-19 CASES?

Multiple public health units across Ontario reported a higher number of COVID-19 cases on Saturday.

According to the province's epidemiology report, there were 76 infections in Toronto, 46 in Peel region and 25 in York Region.

Simcoe-Muskoka reported 51 new cases of the novel coronavirus while Ottawa reported 49, Southwestern 23, Waterloo 26 and Niagara 25.

The majority of Saturday's COVID-19 infections can be found in individuals between the ages of 20 and 60.

Forty infections were identified in people aged 19 and under.

Officials identified another 10 cases of the Delta variant in lab-confirmed COVID-19 tests, bringing the total number of infections to 21,462.

The total number of lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ontario now stands at 602,595, including deaths and recoveries.