Ontario reports more than 190 new COVID-19 cases as seven-day average climbs slightly
Ontario is reporting another jump in the number of new COVID-19 cases as health officials log just over 190 new infections and the seven-day average rises.
The province confirmed 192 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday, which comes after officials logged 185 new infections on Thursday.
Before that, the province reported case numbers below the 150 mark for three days.
Ontario’s rolling seven-day average now stands at 160, up from 151 at this point last week.
With 19,757 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the positivity rate in the province stands at 0.9 per cent.
The province recorded one new death related to the disease, bringing the total death tally in the province to 9,308.
There are at least 136 patients in intensive care in Ontario hospitals and 84 are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.
The province deemed 147 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Friday, bringing Ontario’s number of recovered patients up to 538,271.
Friday’s report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 548,986, including deaths and recoveries.
WHERE ARE THE COVID-19 CASES IN ONTARIO
In the Greater Toronto Area, officials reported 43 cases in Toronto, 25 new cases in Peel Region, 18 new cases in York Region, 11 new cases in Durham Region and four new cases in Halton Region.
Officials also reported 18 new cases in Waterloo, 11 new cases in Hamilton and 10 new cases each in Simcoe Muskoka and Grey Bruce health units. All other regions outside of the GTA reported fewer than 10 new cases of the disease.
The province is currently in Step 3 of its reopening plan and it will remain in this stage for at least 21 days from July 16 before the vast majority of public health restrictions lift.
VARIANTS OF CONCERN IN ONTARIO UPDATE
The province detected several more cases of variants of concern on Friday. Officials are analyzing cases on an ongoing basis to detect mutations and variants of concerns.
The province confirmed an additional 127 new cases of B.1.1.7 on Friday. The total case count for the strain now stands at 145,148.
Officials identified six new cases of the B.1.351 variant and so the total case count in the province rose to 1,485.
In addition, the province also added 34 new cases of the P.1 variant, which brings its total number of cases to 5,130.
As for the Delta variant, also known as the B.1.617 variant, officials reported 131 new cases of the strain, which brings the total number in the province to 3,885.
MORE THAN 8.3M PEOPLE FULLY VACCINATED IN ONTARIO
The province reports that 8,375,133 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 120,231 doses of the vaccine were administered to Ontario residents.
Just over 18.7 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
BREAKING Former Air Canada employees among suspects identified in gold heist at Pearson Airport: police
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year, Peel Regional Police said Wednesday.
MPs summon ArriveCan contractor to the House to be admonished in rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
'Enormous sum of money': Actor Hugh Grant settles privacy lawsuit against tabloid
British actor Hugh Grant has settled a lawsuit against the publisher of Rupert Murdoch's tabloid newspaper, The Sun, over claims journalists used private investigators to tap his phone and burgle his house, he said on Wednesday.
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archaeological site in southwest France.
O.J. Simpson was chilling with a beer on a couch before Easter, lawyer says. 2 weeks later he was dead
O.J. Simpson's last robust discussion with his longtime lawyer was just before Easter, at the country club home Simpson leased southwest of the Las Vegas Strip. About a week later, on April 5, a doctor said Simpson was 'transitioning.'
Some of the winners and losers in the 2024 federal budget
With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, winners include small businesses and fintech companies while losers include the tobacco industry and Canadian pension funds.
U.K. plan to phase out smoking for good passes first hurdle
The British government's plan for a landmark smoking ban that aims to stop young people from ever smoking cleared its first hurdle in Parliament on Tuesday despite vocal opposition from within Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party.
Father of boy accused of stabbing 2 Australian clerics saw no signs of extremism, Muslim leader says
The father of a boy accused of stabbing two Christian clerics in Australia saw no signs of his son’s extremism, a Muslim community leader said on Wednesday as police began arresting suspected rioters who besieged a Sydney church demanding revenge.