Ontario reports more than 350 new COVID-19 cases as positivity rate drops
Ontario health officials are reporting more than 350 new cases of COVID-19 as the positivity rate in the province plummets.
The province confirmed 384 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday. The day before, officials marked the lowest daily total since Sept. 17 with 293 infections.
Ontario’s rolling seven-day average now stands at 474, down from 703 at this point last week.
With 28,076 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the positivity rate in the province dropped from 2.3 per cent on Tuesday to 1.5 per cent on Wednesday.
The last time the province recorded a positivity rate of 1.5 per cent was on Oct. 3, before the peak of the second and third waves.
The province also reported that 12 more people have died due to COVID-19 in the previous 24-hour period, bringing the total number of deaths to 8,986.
There are currently 438 people in hospital due to the disease. At least 377 patients are in intensive care and 242 are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.
The province deemed 722 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Wednesday, bringing Ontario’s number of recovered patients up to 527,162.
Wednesday’s report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 540,810, 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 across the province. Officials reported 60 new cases in Peel Region, 54 new cases in Toronto, 15 new cases in Durham Region and 14 new cases in York Region.
Officials also reported 71 new cases in Waterloo, 23 new cases in Middlesex-London, 21 new cases in Ottawa and 16 new cases in Niagara Region.
The province confirmed an additional 488 new cases of B.1.1.7 (U.K. variant) in Ontario on Tuesday. The total case count for the strain now stands at 141,106.
Officials identified four new cases of B.1.351 (South African variant), and so the total case count in the province rose to 1,141.
In addition, the province added 19 more cases of P.1 (Brazilian variant), which brings its total number of cases to 4,156.
As for the Delta variant, also known as the B.1.617 variant, originally found in India, officials reported 54 new cases of the strain, which brings the total number in the province to 497.
MORE THAN 2.1M PEOPLE FULLY VACCINATED IN ONTARIO
The province reports that 2,198,715 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 202,984 doses of the vaccine were administered to Ontario residents, marking the highest number of shots given in a single day so far in the province.
Just over 11.7 million vaccine doses have been administered in the province since the rollout began earlier this 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
What Michael Cohen said on the stand in Trump hush money case
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial took the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.’s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease’s progression.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
Behind the barricades: How protesters spend their first days in a new encampment
Students in Montreal describe life in a newly erected encampment in Montreal as a whirlwind of preparations, from facing rain and a potential police crackdown to setting up a space for the exchange of ideas.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Canucks' Soucy suspended 1 game, Zadorov fined $5,000 for post-game crosschecks on McDavid
A Vancouver Canucks defenceman has been suspended for a game and another was handed a hefty fine after a scrum broke out at the end of Game 3 against the Edmonton Oilers Sunday night.
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sues for defamation over National Enquirer, InTouch Weekly stories
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sued the parent company of the National Enquirer and InTouch Weekly on Monday for a story that she said falsely claimed that she was trying to help the Menendez brothers get a retrial after they were convicted of murdering their parents.