Ontario reports 1,476 new COVID-19 cases as positivity rate jumps

Ontario health officials reported 1,476 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, marking the fifth straight day in which infection numbers rose above the 1,000 mark.

The province reported 1,009 new cases on Wednesday, 1,290 new cases on Thursday, 1,453 new cases on Friday and 1,607 new cases on Saturday, which marked the highest case count seen since late May.

Ontario’s rolling seven-day average now stands at 1,235, up from 926 at this point last week.

With 38,477 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the positivity rate in the province on Sunday rose to 5.4 per cent from 4.6 per cent. The last time the province reported a positivity rate this high was on May 25 when it stood at 6.2 per cent.

The province recorded eight more deaths on Sunday, bringing the total death tally in the province to 10,078.

There are currently at least 222 people being treated for COVID-19 in Ontario hospitals and 158 of those patients are in intensive care.

The province deemed 674 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Sunday, bringing Ontario’s number of recovered patients up to 611,266.

Today’s report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 632,147, including deaths and recoveries.

WHERE ARE THE NEW COVID-19 CASES IN ONTARIO?

In the Greater Toronto Area, officials reported 226 new cases in Toronto, 96 new cases in Peel Region, 73 new cases in York Region, 57 new cases in Durham Region and 52 new cases in Halton Region.

Officials reported 121 new cases in the Kingston area, 98 new cases in Ottawa, 81 new cases each in Simcoe Muskoka, Waterloo region and Windsor-Essex, 67 new cases in Hamilton, 59 new cases in the Sudbury area and 52 new cases in Middlesex-London.

Every other region in the province reported fewer than 50 new cases on Sunday.

According to the province’s epidemiology report, of the 1,476 new infections reported on Sunday, 301 cases were identified in children under the age of 12.

The province also recorded 168 cases in youth between the ages of 12 and 19 and another 492 cases in people between the ages of 20 and 39.

As well, officials found 347 cases in people between the ages of 40 and 59, 148 cases in people between the ages of 60 and 79 and 17 cases in people over the age of 80.

As of Sunday, 62 cases of the new Omicron variant have been identified in Ontario.

The Ontario government announced on Friday that it will expand booster shot eligibility to residents aged 18 and over as of Jan. 4. Residents must have received their second dose six months prior in order to get their third dose.

The province also announced it will be making its digital or printed QR codes a mandatory part of its proof-of-vaccination system as of Jan. 4.