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
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
BREAKING 15-year-old boy stabbed in Ottawa on Thursday dies
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Nylander defends Leafs' core after playoff exit, Toronto again picks up the pieces
The Maple Leafs battled back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Boston Bruins with consecutive 2-1 victories - including one that required extra time - in their first-round playoff series to push the club's Original Six rival to the limit before suffering a devastating Game 7 overtime loss.
Amid climate change warnings, Canadians lukewarm on electric vehicles
Amid scientists' warnings that nations need to transition away from fossil fuels to limit climate change, Canadians are still lukewarm on electric vehicles, according to a study conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News.
Three dead, two hospitalized, following collision in Fredericton: police
Three people have died and two have been hospitalized after a speeding car struck a tree and landed on another vehicle in Fredericton Sunday morning.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Madonna's biggest-ever concert transforms Rio's Copacabana beach into a massive dance floor
Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro's vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans.
Mexican authorities say thieves killed 2 Australians and an American to steal their truck
Thieves killed two Australians and an American on a surfing trip to Mexico in order to steal their truck, particularly because they wanted the tires, authorities said Sunday.