Ontario reports 486 new COVID-19 cases and 5 more deaths

TORONTO -

Ontario is reporting 486 new COVID-19 cases, marking the sixth day in a row in which the daily case count was below 500.

The majority of the new cases are in those who are not fully vaccinated or who have an unknown vaccination status.

The province said that only 157 of the cases reported Saturday were in people who have received both shots.

Saturday’s case count is a slight decrease from the 496 infections reported on Friday, but an increase from the 417 cases reported Thursday and 306 confirmed Wednesday.

The seven-day average of daily COVID-19 cases now stands at about 441, down from 537 the previous week.

With just over 32,600 tests processed in the last 24-hour period, the Ministry of Health says that the province’s positivity rate is about 1.7 per cent.

Five additional deaths were reported on Saturday, bringing Ontario’s death tally since the beginning of the pandemic to 9,814.

There are at least 242 people being treated for COVID-19 in Ontario hospitals, with 164 of those patients in intensive care.

Of those in the ICU, 146 are either not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.

The new cases come as Ontario moves to further reopen the economy.

A week ago, the province lifted all capacity restrictions at select large indoor and outdoor venues used for sport games, concerts and events. Premier Doug Ford also confirmed Friday that officials will be releasing a strategy to exit Step 3 of Ontario’s reopening plan sometime next week.

“The work began months ago and we're finalizing the plan now, including where and when we may need to reapply measures should they be required to stop a surge in transmission,” Ford told reporters on Friday.

Meanwhile, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said he wants to wait until a few weeks after Thanksgiving before moving forward to ensure there isn’t a spike in cases.

Since the beginning of the pandemic Ontario has logged 594,419 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19, including deaths and recoveries.

WHERE ARE THE NEW COVID-19 CASES?

Sixteen public health units in Ontario are reporting more than 10 new COVID-19 cases, according to the province’s epidemiology report.

Those reporting more than 30 infections include Toronto (88), Peel Region (60), Windsor-Essex (40) and York Region (35).

Of Saturday’s infections, 138 were in people under the age of 20.

There were 151 infections reported in people between the ages of 20 and 39, and 126 infections in people between the ages of 40 and 59.

Ontario reported 66 COVID-19 cases in people over the age of 60.

Officials also logged an additional 54 cases of the Delta variant in lab-confirmed COVID-19 tests, bringing the total to 19,645.

More than 10.8 million people have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and are considered fully vaccinated.

A little more than 30,300 doses were administered in Ontario in the last 24-hour period.

Ontario is slowly approaching its goal of vaccinating 90 per cent of the eligible population. As of Saturday, nearly 84 per cent of individuals aged 12 and up are fully vaccinated with two doses.

About 87.4 per cent of eligible Ontarians have received at least one dose.