Ontario reports 486 new COVID-19 cases and 5 more deaths
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.
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
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.