Ontario reports fewer than 450 new COVID-19 cases
Ontario health officials are reporting fewer than 450 new cases of COVID-19 after several days of case counts just above the 500 mark.
The province confirmed 447 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Monday, which comes after officials reported 590 on Thursday, 574 on Friday, 502 on Saturday and 530 on Sunday.
Ontario’s rolling seven-day average now stands at 503, down from 735 at this point last week.
Speaking to reporters on Monday afternoon, Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams said that the province may see daily case counts below 400 in "the next day or so."
"This is really exciting," he said. "Our numbers continue to move in the right direction."
With 13,588 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the positivity rate in the province rose from 2.6 on Sunday to 2.8 per cent on Monday.
The province also reported that four more people have died due to COVID-19 in the previous 24-hour period, bringing the total number of deaths to 8,961.
There are currently 384 people in hospital due to the disease, but the province has noted that number is an underestimate as not all hospitals reported their data this past weekend. At least 409 patients are in intensive care and 268 are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.
Williams added that the number of ICU patients is actually less than 400 if officials exclude patients from Manitoba being treated in the province's hospitals.
The province deemed 670 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Monday, bringing Ontario’s number of recovered patients up to 525,795.
Monday’s report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 540,130, including deaths and recoveries.
WHERE ARE THE COVID-19 CASES IN ONTARIO
Many of the new COVID-19 cases reported are concentrated in hot spot regions in the Greater Toronto Area. Officials reported 110 new cases in Toronto, 61 new cases in Peel Region, 29 new cases in Durham Region and 11 new cases in York Region.
The province confirmed an additional 458 new cases of B.1.1.7 (U.K. variant) in Ontario on Monday. The total case count for the strain now stands at 139,940.
Officials identified no new cases of B.1.351 (South African variant), and so the total case count in the province remained at 1,137.
In addition, the province added two more cases of P.1 (Brazilian variant), which brings its total number of cases to 4,135.
Ontario does not currently report how many cases of the B.1.617 variant, originally found in India, are found in the province.
Ontario entered the first step of its reopening plan on Friday, allowing patios and some non-essential retail to open for the first time in months.
“You can see now case numbers are crumbling, including the Delta variant,” infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch told CP24 on Monday.
“Even though the Delta variant is spreading and taking over as a more dominant variant it is still also fair to say that its numbers are going down. Will that be the case moving forward? I don’t know but currently that is what is happening.”
MORE THAN 1.8M PEOPLE FULLY VACCINATED IN ONTARIO
The province reports that 1,894,320 people in Ontario have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and are now considered vaccinated against the disease.
In the last 24-hour period, officials said 135,574 doses of the vaccine were administered to Ontario residents.
Just over 11.3 million vaccine doses have been administered in the province since the rollout began earlier this year.
More Ontario residents were able to book an accelerated second dose of COVID-19 vaccine starting Monday, including some people who live in hot spot regions where the Delta variant of COVID-19 is spreading, as well as people who took a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Black youth face multiple barriers in accessing mental health care, experts say
Black youth in Canada face multiple barriers in getting access to mental health services — and health-care providers can make the situation more difficult, experts say.
Bystander livestreams during Charlotte standoff show an ever-growing appetite for social media video
Saing Chhoeun was locked out of his Charlotte, N.C., home on Monday as law enforcement with high-powered rifles descended into his yard and garage, using a car as a shield as they were met with a shower of gunfire from the direction of his neighbor's house.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Israel has briefed U.S. on plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of potential Rafah operation
Israel this week briefed Biden administration officials on a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of a potential operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah aimed at rooting out Hamas militants, according to U.S. officials familiar with the talks.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.