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
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
BREAKING Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, claims he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women in Winnipeg, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Trudeau Liberals to unveil new bill Monday aimed at countering foreign interference
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be tabling legislation on Monday aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada. Federal officials have scheduled a technical briefing on the incoming bill for Monday afternoon.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Human remains were found at a former Hitler base, but decay prevents determining the cause of death
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Ontario MPP asked again to leave Ontario legislature over keffiyeh, Speaker loosens ban
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Trump fined US$1,000 for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial fined him US$1,000 on Monday for violating his gag order once again and sternly warned the former president that additional violations could result in jail time.