Ontario reports 170 new COVID-19 cases, over 8.4 million fully vaccinated
Ontario is reporting a slight decrease in new COVID-19 cases on Saturday from the previous day.
Officials marked 170 new cases of COVID-19 Saturday, with three additional deaths.
The province reported 192 new cases on Friday and 185 on Thursday.
The seven-day rolling average now stands at 159, compared to 151 a week ago.
Provincial labs processed more than 19,131 test specimens, generating a positivity rate of at least 0.8 per cent, according to the Ministry of Health.
The province’s COVID-19-related death toll stands at 9,311.
Another 150 people recovered from the disease yesterday, resulting in 1,424 active cases across the province.
Right now, there are 125 people in hospital with COVID-19 and 132 patients being treated in intensive care, according to the Ministry of Health.
The hospitalization data presented by the province has been skewed over the past several weeks, which may be explained by a delay in patient reporting.
Where are the new cases?
Officials are reporting 44 new cases in Toronto, 26 in Peel Region, 17 in Hamilton, 15 in the Region of Waterloo and 13 in Grey Bruce.
Update on COVID-19 variants of concern
The Ministry of Health is reporting 107 new cases of the Alpha variant Saturday, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 145,255.
Officials reported 12 new cases of Delta variant, B.1.617.2 and the case total is now 3,897.
Four cases of the Beta variant, B.1.351 were also recorded. So far, there have been a total of 1,489 cases of the Beta variant reported in Ontario.
As for the Gamma variant, P.1, 10 new cases were recorded today. The total number of Gamma variants recorded in Ontario is now 5,140.
Vaccination update
The province said it administered 124,261 doses of COVID-19 vaccines Friday.
Throughout Ontario’s seven-month vaccination campaign, over 18.8 million needles have gone into arms.
As of Saturday, 8,480,761 people have received both doses and are considered to be 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
BREAKING Former Air Canada employees among suspects identified in gold heist at Pearson airport: police
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
'$6.66 per day': Advocacy groups disheartened by funding in budget for disability benefit
Advocacy groups across Canada are expressing widespread disappointment about the amount of funding earmarked in the 2024 federal budget for the long-awaited Canada Disability Benefit.
BREAKING Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.
MPs summon ArriveCan contractor to the House to be admonished in rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archeological site in southwest France.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s sons have released a single together
A new Lennon and McCartney collaboration is the last thing anybody expected.