Ontario reports drop in COVID-19 cases, logs fewer than 150 new infections
Ontario health officials are reporting nearly 140 new cases of COVID-19 and 11 more deaths due to the disease.
The province confirmed 139 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday. Ontario has been reporting fewer than 200 new cases daily for the past three days.
Ontario’s rolling seven-day average now stands at 198, up from 160 at this point last week.
With 17,115 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the positivity rate in the province stands at 1.2 per cent.
The province recorded 11 new deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total death tally in the province to 9,360.
Seven of the deaths reported today occurred between December 2020 and February 2021, the Ministry of Health said. They are being reported as part of a data catch-up.
There are at least 108 patients in intensive care in Ontario hospitals and 76 are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.
The province deemed 151 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Wednesday, bringing Ontario’s number of recovered patients up to 540,075.
Today’s report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 551,125, including deaths and recoveries.
WHERE ARE THE COVID-19 CASES IN ONTARIO
In the Greater Toronto Area, officials reported 26 new cases in Toronto, 18 new cases in Peel Region, 15 new cases in York Region, 11 in Durham Region and zero in Halton Region.
Officials also reported 19 new cases in Waterloo region, 12 new cases in Hamilton and 10 new cases in Windsor. All other regions outside of the GTA reported fewer than 10 new cases of the disease.
Ontario is currently in Step 3 of its reopening plan. The province is operating under the loosest set of public health restrictions observed in months. In order to move to a complete reopening, the province has set certain vaccination targets.
VARIANTS OF CONCERN IN ONTARIO UPDATE
The province detected several more cases of variants of concern on Wednesday. Officials are analyzing cases on an ongoing basis to detect mutations and variants of concerns.
The province confirmed an additional two new cases of Alpha B.1.1.7 on Wednesday. The total case count for the strain now stands at 145,538.
Officials identified no new cases of the Beta B.1.351 variant and so the total case count in the province remains at 1,493.
In addition, the province also found one new case of the Gamma P.1 variant, which brings its total number of cases to 5,164.
As for the Delta variant, also known as the B.1.617 variant, officials reported 25 new cases of the strain, which brings the total number in the province to 4,909.
MORE THAN 9.1M PEOPLE FULLY VACCINATED IN ONTARIO
The province reports that 9,143,402 people in Ontario have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and are now considered fully vaccinated against the disease.
In the last 24-hour period, officials said 60,094 doses of the vaccine were administered to Ontario residents.
Just over 19.6 million vaccine doses have been administered in the province since the rollout began last year.
Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore told reporters at a news conference Tuesday that vaccines are proving effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19 in Ontario.
He says since Dec. 14, 2020, unvaccinated cases of COVID-19 accounted for 95.4 per cent of COVID-19 cases, with breakthrough cases accounting for 0.5 per cent.
In the last month, Kieran added that people who were unvaccinated were approximately eight times more likely to be infected with COVID-19 compared to fully vaccinated people.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Live updates: What star witness in Trump hush money case has said on the stand so far
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial is set to take the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
Steve Buscemi punched in the face while walking in N.Y.C.
Hollywood actor Steve Buscemi has been treated for injuries after being punched in the face while walking in New York City.
'Be very, very careful': Wildfire conditions 'still extreme,' says Alberta fire chief
As wildfire conditions remain 'extreme' in northern Alberta, residents are being urged to be extra cautious and follow a fire ban.
Air quality advisories issued in 5 provinces, 1 territory
Air quality advisories are in effect across Western Canada as smoky conditions plague some areas, according to the latest forecasts. Here's where.
Canucks' Zadorov fined $5,000 for post-game crosscheck on Oilers' McDavid
A Vancouver Canucks defenceman has been given the highest possible fine under the NHL's collective bargaining agreement after a scrum broke out at the end of Game 3 against the Edmonton Oilers Sunday night.
BREAKING City of Ottawa negligent in allowing Uber to operate outside of taxi bylaw, judge rules
An Ontario Superior Court judge has ruled that the City of Ottawa was negligent in its enforcement of the city's taxi bylaw when it allowed Uber to begin operating in 2014, harming the city's established taxi industry.
Jerry Seinfeld speech prompts pro-Palestinian demonstration at U.S. university graduation ceremony
A tiny contingent of Duke University graduates opposed pro-Israel comedian Jerry Seinfeld speaking at their commencement in North Carolina Sunday, with about 30 of the 7,000 students leaving their seats and chanting "free Palestine" amid a mix of boos and cheers.
Just how bad are ultraprocessed foods? Here are 5 things to know
Many foods fall under the category of ultraprocessed foods, depending on their exact ingredients. This type of food has been studied a lot lately, and the results aren’t great.