Ontario marks lowest COVID-19 daily case count in months with 304 new cases
Ontario health officials are reporting 304 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, marking the lowest case count seen in the province since early August.
Today’s case count comes after officials logged 328 new cases on Tuesday and 373 new cases on Monday.
The last time the province logged fewer than 304 new cases in a single day was on Aug. 5, when officials reported 213 new cases.
Ontario’s rolling seven-day average now stands at 406, down from 500 at this point last week. The seven-day average has been on a downward trend recently.
With 31,569 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the positivity rate in the province fell to about 1.3 per cent.
The last time the province’s positivity rate dropped this low was on Aug. 5 when it stood at 1.2 per cent.
Of the new infections reported Wednesday, 220 cases involved people who are either unvaccinated, partially vaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown. The remaining 84 infections involved people who are fully vaccinated.
The province recorded four new deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total death tally in the province to 9,823.
The province stated at least 258 people are in hospital due to COVID-19, including 31 people who are fully vaccinated and 227 people who are either not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.
At least 159 patients are in intensive care in Ontario hospitals and 113 are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.
The province deemed 537 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Wednesday, bringing Ontario’s number of recovered patients up to 582,609.
Today’s report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 595,867, including deaths and recoveries.
WHERE ARE THE NEW COVID-19 CASES IN ONTARIO
Most of the new cases were found in parts of the Greater Toronto Area. Officials reported 46 new cases in Toronto, 22 new cases in York Region, 15 new cases in Durham Region and 13 new cases in Peel Region.
Officials also reported 24 new cases in Sudbury area, 21 new cases in Windsor-Essex, 20 new cases in Hamilton, 19 new cases in Ottawa, 13 new cases in Southwestern Public Health and 11 new cases in Middlesex-London. All other regions reported fewer than 10 new cases of the disease.
According to the province’s epidemiology report, of the 304 new infections reported on Wednesday, 59 cases were identified in children under the age of 12.
The province also recorded 24 cases in youth between the ages of 12 and 19 and another 109 cases in people between the ages of 20 and 39.
As well, officials found 84 cases in people between the ages of 40 and 59, 25 cases in people between the ages of 60 and 79 and three cases in people over the age of 80.
On Wednesday, officials reported 107 new cases in Ontario schools, including 85 cases involving students and 22 cases involving staff.
The province reported that 592 out 4,844 schools have at least one case of COVID-19. Currently, one school is closed due to an outbreak.
Officials also reported an additional 46 cases of the Delta variant in lab-confirmed COVID-19 tests. This brings the total number of cases to 20,022
MORE THAN 10.8M PEOPLE FULLY VACCINATED IN ONTARIO
The province reports that 10,868,680 people in Ontario have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and are now considered fully vaccinated against the disease.
In the last 24-hour period, officials said 25,284 doses of the vaccine were administered to Ontario residents.
Just over 22.2 million vaccine doses have been administered in the province since the rollout began last year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
A 'tragedy that can't be measured': North Bay's forever chemical problem is also the rest of Canada's
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
opinion How to use your credit card as a powerful wealth-building tool
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
Questlove was not happy with Drake and Kendrick Lamar's beef: 'Nobody won the war'
While some may have been excited and/or amused by the diss-track feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, the man many consider to be an elder statesman of hip-hop appears less than enthused about it.
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Bouchard lifts Edmonton Oilers to 4-3 overtime win over Canucks in Game 2
Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers bounced back for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.
A renewed Russian offensive on Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine forces some 1,700 civilians to flee
Russian forces began a renewed ground assault in Ukraine's northeast, killing and injuring several people and forcing more than 1,700 civilians to evacuate from the Kharkiv region, officials said Saturday.
For moms-to-be, it's possible to take maternity leave without breaking the bank
Pregnancy is often an exciting and anxious time for parents-to-be. And while painting the nursery and choosing a stroller are typically on the agenda, experts say preparing financially for a maternity leave can help reduce stress later on as well.
Israel orders new evacuations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah as it prepares to expand operations
Israel ordered new evacuations in Gaza's southern city of Rafah on Saturday, forcing tens of thousands more people to move as it prepares to expand its operation and adding that it is also moving into an area in northern Gaza where Hamas has regrouped.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.