Ontario reports just under 600 new COVID-19 cases, seven-day average drops slightly
Ontario health officials are reporting just under 600 new cases of COVID-19 for the second straight day.
The province confirmed 593 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, which comes after officials logged 577 new cases on Tuesday and 600 new cases on Monday.
Ontario’s rolling seven-day average now stands at 722, down from 732 at this point last week.
With 33,220 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the positivity rate in the province is 2.5 per cent.
Of the new infections reported Wednesday, 447 cases involved people who are either unvaccinated, partially vaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown. The remaining 146 infections involved people who are fully vaccinated.
The province recorded five new deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total death tally in the province to 9,629.
Officials say that one of the five deaths happened more than one month ago and they added it to the cumulative count due to a data cleaning.
The province stated at least 346 people are in hospital due to COVID-19, including 35 people who are fully vaccinated and 311 people who are either not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.
At least 188 patients are in intensive care in Ontario hospitals and 125 are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.
The province deemed 755 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Wednesday, bringing Ontario’s number of recovered patients up to 560,824.
Today’s report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 576,389, including deaths and recoveries.
WHERE ARE THE NEW COVID-19 CASES IN ONTARIO
Most of the new cases were found in parts of the Greater Toronto Area. Officials reported 141 new cases in Toronto, 61 new cases in Peel Region, 9 new cases in York Region and 17 new cases in Durham Region.
Officials also reported 46 new cases in Ottawa, 45 new cases in Windsor-Essex, 38 new cases in Hamilton and 34 new cases in Niagara Region. All other regions reported fewer than 30 new cases of the disease.
According to the province’s epidemiology report, of the 593 new infections reported on Wednesday, 95 cases were identified in children under the age of 12.
The province also recorded 54 cases in youth between the ages of 12 and 19 and another 253 cases in people between the ages of 20 and 39.
As well, officials found 132 cases in people between the ages of 40 and 59, 48 cases in people between the ages of 60 and 79 and 11 cases in people over the age of 80 were reported.
The province has started reporting the number of new daily COVID-19 cases in schools across Ontario.
On Wednesday, officials reported 168 new cases in schools, including 145 cases involving students and 15 cases involving staff. The province said the remaining eight cases were not identified.
The province reported that 299 out of 4,844 schools have at least one case of COVID-19. Currently, no schools are closed due to an outbreak, the province reports.
Officials also reported an additional 411 cases of the Delta variant in lab-confirmed COVID-19 tests. This brings the total number of cases to 15,689.
MORE THAN 10.2M PEOPLE FULLY VACCINATED IN ONTARIO
The province reports that 10,215,951 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 35,691 doses of the vaccine were administered to Ontario residents.
Just over 21.2 million vaccine doses have been administered in the province since the rollout began last year.
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
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests about relationship with Prince Harry
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they've changed their name
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
Trial begins for Winnipeg serial killer who claims he was mentally ill
The trial of a man who admits he killed four women in Winnipeg is set to begin Wednesday, and a law professor says lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki have multiple hurdles to clear for a defence of mental illness.
These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
New Canadian study could be a lifesaver for thousands suffering from CTE
A first-of-its-kind Canadian research study is working towards a major medical breakthrough for a brain disorder, believed to be caused by repeated head injuries, that can only be detected after death.
Rape, terror and death at sea: How a boat carrying Rohingya children, women and men capsized
In March, Indonesian officials and local fishermen rescued 75 people from the overturned hull of a boat off the coast of Indonesia. Until now, little was known about why the boat capsized.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.