Ontario reports more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases for first time in six months
Ontario health officials are reporting more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases for the first time since late spring.
The province confirmed 1,031 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday. The last time the province reported more than 1,000 new cases in a single day was on May 30 when 1,033 new cases were logged.
This past week, officials reported 788 new cases on Monday, 687 new cases on Tuesday, 780 new cases on Wednesday and 949 new cases on Thursday.
Ontario’s rolling seven-day average now stands at 866, up from 711 at this point last week.
With 39,748 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the positivity rate in the province stands at about 2.9 per cent.
Of the new infections reported Friday, 589 cases involved people who are unvaccinated, partially vaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown. The remaining 442 infections involved people who are fully vaccinated.
Health experts have said that the number of infections in fully vaccinated individuals will rise as more people get the vaccine.
The province recorded four more deaths on Friday, bringing the total death tally in the province to 10,016.
There are currently at least 146 people being treated for COVID-19 in Ontario intensive care units. Health Minister Christine Elliott says that of those patients, 119 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status and 27 are fully vaccinated.
The province deemed 742 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Friday, bringing Ontario’s number of recovered patients up to 604,027.
Today’s report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 621,260, including deaths and recoveries.
WHERE ARE THE NEW COVID-19 CASES IN ONTARIO?
In the Greater Toronto Area, officials reported 133 new cases in Toronto, 60 new cases in Peel Region, 56 new cases in York Region, 44 new cases in Durham Region and 27 new cases in Halton Region.
Officials reported 106 new cases in Simcoe Muskoka, 68 new cases in Windsor-Essex, 59 new cases in the Sudbury area, 58 new cases in Ottawa, and 47 new cases in Hamilton. All other regions of the province had fewer than 40 new cases each.
According to the province’s epidemiology report, of the 1,031 new infections reported on Friday, 273 cases were identified in children under the age of 12.
The province also recorded 87 cases in youth between the ages of 12 and 19 and another 290 cases in people between the ages of 20 and 39.
As well, officials found 247 cases in people between the ages of 40 and 59, 121 cases in people between the ages of 60 and 79 and 15 cases in people over the age of 80.
On Friday, officials reported 172 new cases in Ontario schools, including 152 cases involving students and 18 cases involving staff. Officials did not release information about the remaining two cases.
The province reported that 792 out of 4,844 schools have at least one case of COVID-19. Currently, nine schools are closed due to outbreaks.
As of Friday, 11 cases of the new Omicron variant have been identified in Ontario. The latest case was reported in Durham Region.
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. Health experts have said the number of COVID-19 infections identified in fully vaccinated individuals will naturally increase as more people get both of their shots.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
After 3 months of war, life in Russia has profoundly changed
Three months after the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, many ordinary Russians are reeling from those blows to their livelihoods and emotions. Moscow's vast shopping malls have turned into eerie expanses of shuttered storefronts once occupied by Western retailers.

Death toll from Saturday's storm hits 10 across Ontario and Quebec
As the death toll related to the powerful storm that swept Ontario and Quebec on Saturday reached 10 on Monday, some of the hardest-hit communities were still working to take stock of the damage.
'Too many children did not make it home': Anniversary of discovery at Canada's largest residential school
It's been a year since the announcement of the detection of unmarked graves at the site of what was once Canada's largest residential school – an announcement that for many Indigenous survivors was confirmation of what they already knew.
Walk out at trade meeting when Russia spoke 'not one-off,' says trade minister
The United States and four other nations that walked out of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group meeting in Bangkok over the weekend underlined their support Monday for host nation Thailand, saying their protest was aimed solely at Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine.
19 charged, including 10 minors, after violent night at Toronto beach
Police say they’ve made 19 arrests and seven officers were injured after a violent night at Toronto’s Woodbine Beach that saw two people shot, one person stabbed, two others robbed at gunpoint and running street battles involving fireworks through Sunday evening.
Monkeypox fears could stigmatize LGBTQ2S+ community, expert says
A theory that the recent outbreak of monkeypox may be tied to sexual activity has put the gay community in an unfortunate position, having fought back against previous and continued stigma around HIV and AIDS, an LGBTQ2+ centre director says.
Hydro damage 'significantly worse' than the ice storm and tornadoes, Hydro Ottawa says
Hydro Ottawa says the damage from Saturday's storm is "simply beyond comprehension", and is "significantly worse" than the 1998 ice storm and the tornadoes that hit the capital three years ago.
Johnny Depp's severed finger story has flaws: surgeon
A hand surgeon testified Monday that Johnny Depp could not have lost the tip of his middle finger the way he told jurors it happened in his civil lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard.
Military members urged to contact Habitat for Humanity amid housing crisis
An email encouraging members of the Canadian Armed Forces to consider contacting Habitat for Humanity if they can't find affordable housing is casting a spotlight on a growing challenge facing many military personnel and their families.