Ontario reports 741 new COVID-19 cases and 3 more deaths

TORONTO -

Health officials in Ontario have reported another 741 cases of COVID-19 as well as three more deaths related to the disease.

The new infections logged Sunday mark a slight increase from the 728 cases on Saturday.

This is the fourth day in a row in which Ontario has reported more than 700 cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the province's seven-day average of daily infections to about 645.

This time last week the average was about 573.

With just under 29,800 COVID-19 tests processed in the last 24-hour period, the Ministry of Health says the province's positivity rate is now about 2.6 per cent.

According to provincial data, 350 of the 741 infections reported Sunday were found in people who are not vaccinated against COVID-19. Twenty cases were in people who were partially vaccinated and 40 cases were found in people whose vaccination status was unknown.

Ontario said that 331 cases were found in people who were fully vaccinated. It's important to note that health experts have said the number of COVID-19 infections identified in fully vaccinated individuals will naturally increase as more people get both of their shots.

There are 135 people being treated for COVID-19 in Ontario intensive care units. Due to a lack of reporting over the weekends, the province does not provide hospital vaccination data on Sundays.

The total number of lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ontario now stands at 611,691, including 9,967 deaths and 596,259.

WHERE ARE THE COVID-19 CASES?

The two municipalities logging the largest number of infections are Simcoe-Muskoka with 84 cases and Toronto with 80 cases.

According to the province's epidemiology report, other municipalities that reported more than 30 COVID-19 cases include Windsor-Essex (50), Ottawa (48), Sudbury and its districts (39), Algoma (46) and Southwestern (31).

All other public health units are reporting fewer than 30 new infections.

Of the cases reported Sunday, 183 were identified in children under the age of 12 and 51 cases were found in youth between the ages of 12 and 19.

There were 220 cases in people between the ages of 20 and 39 and 191 cases in people between the ages of 40 and 59.

Ninety-five infections were found in seniors over the age of 60.

Ontario officials say that nearly 85.9 per cent of eligible residents over the age of 12 have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine while another 89 per cent have received at least one dose.