Ontario reports 13,807 new cases of COVID-19, shattering previous record

Health officials in Ontario are reporting the highest number of new COVID-19 cases ever logged in a single day with 13,807 new cases Thursday.

News of the new infections comes after the province posted a then-record 10,436 cases on Wednesday.

Thursday’s report brings the province’s seven-day average for the number of cases reported to 10,327 -- the highest it’s ever been.

Labs processed 67,301 tests in the last 24 hours, which the Ministry of Health said generated a record positivity rate of 30.5 per cent.

Health experts have said that Ontario’s high case counts in recent days are likely an underestimate given the scarcity of PCR tests provincewide.

Eight additional deaths were also logged since yesterday, pushing the province’s COVID-19 death toll to 10,179.

The vaccination status of the cases reported Thursday was not released by the province. 

Of the 965 patients in hospital with COVID-19 -- up 239 over Wednesday's count -- at least 399 are fully vaccinated, 182 are unvaccinated, and 24 are partially vaccinated. The vaccination status of the remaining patients is unknown.

In the ICU, there are 200 patients, including 73 patients who are unvaccinated, 45 who are fully vaccinated, and two who are partially vaccinated.

On Wednesday, Travis Kann, Premier Doug Ford’s deputy chief of staff for strategic communications, announced that the province is now trying to change how it reports hospitalization data.

"Many have pointed out the importance of distinguishing between patients in hospital or ICU for COVID19 versus those admitted for other reasons but test positive," Kann wrote in a tweet. "We've asked hospitals to update daily reporting to include this important information. We expect to begin receiving it in the coming days."

Meanwhile, a new report published by Public Health Ontario found that the risk of hospitalization or death was 54 per cent lower for Omicron versus Delta.

However, the group said that because Omicron is more transmissible, it expects to see an increase in hospitalizations, a trend that appears to be playing out in Ontario's health-care system as of late.

WHERE ARE THE NEW COVID-19 CASES?

Most of the cases reported by the province Thursday were found in the GTA, including Toronto (3,478), Peel Region (1,468), and York Region (1,224).

Other areas with high case counts reported today include Hamilton (939), Halton Region (732), Ottawa (683), and Waterloo (628).

UPDATE ON COVID-19 VACCINATIONS

More than 27,012,866 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine have been administered throughout the province, according to Health Minister Christine Elliott.

Right now, 90.8 per cent of Ontarians over the age of 12 have one dose and 88.1 per cent have two doses.

Over 197,000 needles went into arms on Wednesday alone.