Ontario reports another 135 new cases of COVID-19, four additional deaths
Health officials in Ontario are reporting 135 new cases of COVID-19 as well as four additional deaths linked to the disease.
Wednesday’s report brings the total number of lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in the province to 548,609, including 537,975 recoveries and 9,300 deaths.
Labs processed 20,750 tests in the last 24 hours, yielding a positivity rate of 0.8 per cent, according to the Ministry of Health.
This marks the 13th day in a row in which case numbers in Ontario have remained below 200.
The rolling seven-day average for the number of cases reported across the province stands at 149. A week ago, that number was 164.
Right now, the province says there are 139 patients in hospital with COVID-19.
Where are the new COVID-19 cases?
Most of the cases reported by the province Wednesday were found in Toronto (26), Peel Region (16), and Durham Region (13).
Case counts in the double digits were also found in Waterloo (12) and Middlesex-London (10).
Ontario is currently in Step 3 of its reopening plan, which allows for the most lenient public health restrictions the province has seen in months.
Premier Doug Ford’s government has said that the final step of its reopening plan, which will see the lifting of virtually all remaining public health restrictions, can’t begin until at least 80 per cent of those 12 and older have been partially vaccinated and 75 per cent have been fully vaccinated.
However, during a briefing on Tuesday, Ontario’s top doctor said that the province needs to get 90 per cent of eligible residents fully vaccinated to account for the risk of the Delta variant.
“Certainly I'd love Ontario to have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. The modelling, though, tells us that once we're at around 90 per cent of the eligible population immunized that the risk of Delta will be less for us,” Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said.
517 more cases of COVID-19 variants of concern confirmed
Labs in Ontario confirmed 517 more cases of COVID-19 variants of concern Tuesday.
At least 353 of those cases are of the Delta variant B.1.617.2, which brings the case total to 3,693.
Ninety-nine are of the Alpha variant B.1.1.7. There are 144,922 confirmed cases of that strain in the province.
Another 58 cases were of the Gamma variant P.1, which pushes the case total to 5,027.
Seven cases of the Beta variant B.1.351 were also confirmed. There are 1,474 cases of that mutation in Ontario.
Update on COVID-19 vaccines
Clinics administered 140,491 doses of COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday, raising the total number of doses administered throughout the province’s vaccination campaign to 18,429,003.
That number includes 8,165,247 people who have received both doses and are considered to be fully vaccinated.
With files from CP24's Chris Fox.
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
B.C. child killer's lawyer walks out of review hearing
The lawyer representing child-killer Allan Schoenborn walked out of his client's annual review hearing Wednesday – abruptly ending proceedings marked by tense exchanges and several outbursts.
Why drivers in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada will see a gas price spike, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
How to avoid the trap of becoming 'house poor'
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
It's the biggest election in history. Here's why few Indians in Canada will take part
In the Indian general election that gets underway on Friday, almost a billion people are eligible to vote, but a vast majority of the overseas Indian community in Canada won't be casting a ballot.
McDonald's customers left with 'zero value' collection of free hot drink stickers after company ends program
It took years for Vinnie Deluca to collect more than 400 cards worth of free McDonald's McCafe coffee, a collection that now has "zero value" after the company discontinued the program.
Juror dismissed in Trump hush money trial as prosecutors ask for former president to face contempt
Prosecutors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump asked Thursday for the former president to be held in contempt and fined because of seven social media posts that they said violated a judge's gag order barring him from attacking witnesses.
Toxic forever chemicals in drinking water: Is Canada doing enough?
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.