Ontario reports 481 new cases of COVID-19, one additional death

TORONTO -

Ontario health officials are reporting 481 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday.

Officials also recorded one new deaths, pushing the total number of COVID-19-related fatalities in the province to 9,938.

Today’s case count comes after officials logged 552 new cases on Monday, 666 new cases on Sunday and 661 new cases on Saturday.

Ontario’s rolling seven-day average now stands at 579, up from 492 at this point last week.

With 18,965 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the positivity rate in the province stands at about 2.5 per cent.

Of the new infections reported Tuesday, 236 cases involved people who are unvaccinated, 18 were in those partially vaccinated and 38 were in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown. The remaining 189 infections involved people who are fully vaccinated.

Health experts have noted the number of COVID-19 infections identified in fully vaccinated individuals will naturally increase as more people get both of their shots. Vaccination helps reduce the risk of severe symptoms related to COVID-19 as well as hospitalization.

The province stated at least 301 people are in hospital due to COVID-19. Of those hospitalized, 192 were admitted in the last 24 hours — 102 of which are unvaccinated, 17 are partially vaccinated and 73 are fully vaccinated.

The province says 139 patients are in intensive care due to COVID-19.

The province deemed 651 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Tuesday, bringing Ontario’s number of recovered patients up to 593,454.

Today’s report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 608,206, including deaths and recoveries.

Last week, Ontario announced it would pause the lifting of capacity limits in remaining higher-risk settings.

WHERE ARE THE NEW COVID-19 CASES?

In the Greater Toronto Area, officials reported 56 new cases in Toronto, 31 new cases in Peel Region, 23 new cases in York Region and 17 new cases in Durham Region.

Outside of the GTA, regions that reported more than 30 new infections include Ottawa (41) and Simcoe-Muskoka (33).

All other regions reported fewer than 30 new cases of the virus.

According to the province’s epidemiology report, of the 481 new infections reported on Tuesday, 89 cases were identified in children under the age of 12.

The province also recorded 40 cases in youth between the ages of 12 and 19 and another 146 cases in people between the ages of 20 and 39.

On Tuesday, 245 COVID-19 infections were found in schools across Ontario. This data reflects the last three days' worth of cases. Of the infections found in schools, 222 were recorded in students, 18 were in staff and five were in unidentified individuals.

There are 536 schools with at least one confirmed case and three facilities are currently closed as a result.

OVER 11.1M PEOPLE FULLY VACCINATED IN ONTARIO

The province reports that 11,160,503 people in Ontario have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and are now considered fully vaccinated against the virus.

In the last 24-hour period, officials said 13,146 doses of the vaccine were administered to Ontario residents.

Just over 22.7 million vaccine doses have been administered in the province since the rollout began last year.