Ontario reports 653 more cases of COVID-19, six additional deaths
Health officials in Ontario are reporting another 653 cases of COVID-19 Sunday as well as six additional deaths related to the disease.
Of the cases recorded today, 499 involve individuals who are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status and 154 are in fully vaccinated individuals.
There are 198 people in hospital with COVID-19, including 177 people in the ICU, though the vaccination status of those hospitalized was not released by the province.
Sunday’s report brings the province’s seven-day average for the number of cases logged to 620. A week ago today that number was 709.
So far, Ontario has seen 583,928 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 throughout the pandemic. That number includes 568,633 resolved cases and 9,704 deaths – six of which were reported in the last 24 hours although three occurred last month.
With 31,063 tests processed since yesterday, the Ministry of Health says that Ontario’s COVID-19 positivity rate is two per cent.
Where are the new COVID-19 cases?
Most of the cases reported by the province on Sunday were found in Toronto (109), Ottawa (71), and Hamilton (66).
Case counts in the double digits were also recorded in Peel Region (55), Halton Region (42), Windsor-Essex (42), and York Region (41).
Update on COVID-19 variants of concern
Labs confirmed 246 additional cases of the COVID-19 variant B.1.617.2 known as Delta.
This brings the total number of lab-confirmed infections to 18,260.
Moreover, four more cases of the Alpha variant B.11.7 were also confirmed following genomic sequencing, pushing the case total to 146,461.
No new cases of the Gamma variant P.1 or Beta variant B.1.351 were found in the last 24-hour period.
COVID-19 vaccinations in Ontario
As of today, 80.2 per cent of eligible Ontarians have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and are considered to be fully vaccinated, Health Minister Christine Elliott said in a tweet.
Elliott also noted that 85.8 per cent of the province’s eligible population now has at least one dose and that 21,651,850 needles have gone into arms during Ontario’s 10-month vaccination campaign.
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
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
Blind Sask. boy heading to international braille competition hopes to increase accessibility for visually impaired
A Saskatchewan boy who qualified for an international braille competition in Los Angeles next month hopes he can inspire change in his home province.
'A step forward': New screening criteria for sperm donors takes effect
Canadians looking to grow their families with the assistance of sperm or egg donations should soon have more options for donors as the federal health agency does away with longstanding restrictions criticized as discriminatory.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.