Ontario reports 321 new COVID-19 cases, 10 additional deaths
Another 321 cases of COVID-19 are being reported across Ontario on Wednesday, as well as 10 additional deaths linked to the disease.
The seven-day average for the number of cases reported in the province stands at 366. This time last week, that number was 406.
Of the cases reported Wednesday, 158 involve individuals who are unvaccinated and 118 involve those who are fully vaccinated. The 45 remaining cases involve people who are either not fully vaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown at this time.
Wednesday’s report marks a jump from the 269 novel coronavirus infections logged a day earlier, which was the lowest single-day case total recorded in months.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Ontario has seen 598,431 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 585,591 recoveries and 9,862 deaths—10 of which were reported by the province today. Nine of those deaths occurred in September and one occurred more than one month ago but are only being reported today due to a “data cleaning,” the government said.
Right now, there are 215 people in hospital with COVID-19, including 188 patients who are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status and 27 patients who are fully vaccinated. Of the 134 patients in the ICU, 118 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status and 16 are fully vaccinated.
With 30,776 tests processed in the last 24 hours, Ontario's COVID-19 positivity rate stands at 1.4 per cent, according to the Ministry of Health.
Where are the new COVID-19 cases?
Most of the cases reported by the province on Wednesday were found in Toronto (66), York Region (33), Ottawa (27), and Sudbury (27).
Other areas that reported notable COVID-19 case counts include Windsor-Essex (17), Halton Region (17), Peel Region (16), and Middlesex-London (16).
Ninety COVID-19 infections were found in schools across Ontario since Tuesday. Eighty-five of those cases were recorded in students and the remaining five were in staff members.
There are 533 schools with at least one confirmed case and two facilities are currently closed as a result.
In the last 24 hours, labs confirmed seven additional cases of the COVID-19 Delta variant B.1.617.2. The province has confirmed 20,618 cases of the strain so far.
Update on COVID-19 vaccinations
As of Wednesday, nearly 88 per cent of the eligible population has one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine and almost 84.1 per cent have two doses and are considered to be fully vaccinated.
On Tuesday, Premier Doug Ford said the province would hit its target of 90 per cent vaccination coverage in those eligible even without the vaccine approval for children under 12.
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
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
BREAKING Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
On federal budget, Macklem says 'fiscal track has not changed significantly'
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canada's fiscal position has 'not changed significantly' following the release of the federal government's budget.