Ontario reports more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases for second day straight
Ontario is reporting more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases for the second straight day as the number of infections in the province continues to rise.
Health officials confirmed 1,053 new COVID-19 cases in Ontario today, which is up slight from the 1,031 infections on Friday.
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.
Saturday's case count is the highest in a single day since May 29, when 1,057 infections were reported.
With 32,268 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the positivity rate in the province stands at about 3.5 per cent.
Ontario's rolling seven-day average of COVID-19 cases now stands at 895, up from 729 at this point last week.
As of Saturday, Ontario had confirmed 12 cases of the Omicron variant in the province. The latest case is in a person from Hamilton who recently returned to the country after a trip to South Africa.
There were eight additional COVID-19-related deaths, pushing the total number of fatalities to 10,024. The Ministry of Health says seven of those deaths occured last month.
Of the cases on Saturday, 499 are in fully vaccinated people, 469 in unvaccinated people, 25 have received one dose and 60 have an unknown vaccination status.
There were 139 new COVID-19 cases in Toronto, 101 new infections in Simcoe-Muskoka, 54 in York Region and Windsor-Essex, 45 in Middlesex-London, 30 in Halton Region and 29 in Durham Region.
There are currently 284 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Ontario. Of those, 220 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status and 64 are fully vaccinated, the government says.
There are currently at least 160 people being treated for COVID-19 in Ontario intensive care units.
Health officials have warned for months that cases would increase in the winter months as more people gather indoors.
"Sadly, all modelling would predict this would slowly, steadily rise and increase over the coming months, including January and February," Chief Medical Officer of Heath Dr. Kieran Moore said in November.
He asked people to remain cautious until the weather warms up in the spring and more people become eligible for third vaccine doses to protect against COVID-19.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
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.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.