TORONTO -- COVID-19 case numbers in Ontario have dropped to levels unseen in more than two months with fewer than 1,700 infections reported Wednesday.
The 1,670 new cases are down from the 1,740 reported by the province a day earlier.
Moreover, case growth in Ontario appears to be trending downward in recent days with 1,958 infections logged on Monday and 2,417 on Sunday.
The province's seven-day average for number of cases reported is 2,205. That number was as high as 2,849 one week ago today. Two weeks ago, that number reached 3,479.
Wednesday’s data marks the lowest daily case number reported in Ontario since Nov. 26, when 1,478 infections were added.
The province’s COVID-19 case total now stands at 260,370, including deaths and recoveries.
Forty-nine of those deaths occurred in the last 24 hours, and at least 25 involved residents of a long-term care home, pushing Ontario’s death toll to 5,958.
Another 2,725 cases are now considered to be resolved by the Ministry of Health. Since the pandemic began, 232,480 people previously infected with the novel coronavirus have recovered.
And with 55,191 tests processed in the previous day, the province's COVID-19 positivity rate is at 4 per cent. There are currently 21,932 active cases of COVID-19 in Ontario.
Where are the new COVID-19 cases?
According to data provided by the province, Toronto reported a single-day drop in case numbers Wednesday.
At least 450 infections were reported in the city, down from the 677 logged Tuesday.
Toronto has regularly reported the highest number of new daily COVID-19 cases in Ontario since the pandemic began.
However, case numbers in other parts of the province climbed day over day.
For example, 342 cases were found in Peel Region, up from 320 a day earlier. Similarly, 171 infections were found in York Region, up from 144, while 128 were recorded in Niagara Region, up significantly from the 49 added Tuesday.
Several other regions reported case numbers in the high double digits Wednesday, including Hamilton (84), Ottawa (82) and Waterloo (77).
As of today, there are 1,382 patients in hospital with COVID-19. Of those patients, 377 are receiving treatment in intensive care and 291 are on a ventilator.
Update on vaccinations
Ontario has administered 305,330 shots of the COVID-19 vaccine since it began rolling out inoculations more than a month ago.
More than 9,500 shots were administered since yesterday.
The province says that 96,459 people have received both their first and second doses and are considered to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
