Ontario records over 500 new COVID-19 cases, slight increase over last two days
Health officials logged 590 new infections on Thursday, as well as 11 deaths related to the novel coronavirus.
The seven-day rolling average of daily reported COVID-19 cases continues to decline and now stands at about 618 down from 940 a week ago.
There are 516 people being treated for the novel coronavirus in Ontario hospitals. At least 450 of those patients are in intensive care, 27 of which are residents of Manitoba, according to the Ministry of Health.
With 31,423 tests processed in the last 24-hour period, the Ministry of Health says the province’s positivity rate stands at two per cent.
As of 12:01 a.m. Friday, Ontario will enter Step 1 of its reopening plan, allowing for patios to resume operation and non-essential retail to accept in-person customers again.
WHERE ARE THE COVID-19 CASES?
The majority of cases are found in Peel Region (130), Toronto (114), Waterloo (61), Hamilton (38), and York Region (32).
According to the province’s epidemiology report, 1,509 cases of the B.1.1.7. variant were identified in lab-positive tests in the previous 24-hours. These new cases bring the total number of B.1.1.7. variants in Ontario to 136,117.
The province also identified an additional 25 cases of the P.1. variant.
Ontario is not publicly reporting cases of the B.1.617 variant originally found in India.
ALMOST 1.4 MILLION PEOPLE FULLY VACCINATED
The province administered just over 182,350 vaccine doses in the last 24-hour period.
In total, over 10.6 million vaccine doses have made it into the arms of Ontarians. To date, 1,399,776 people have received two shots and are considered fully vaccinated.
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, because local units report figures at different times.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.