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
Trudeau 'absolutely' best person to lead the Liberals in next election: LeBlanc says
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc insists he's not planning a leadership campaign to head the Liberal party, should current leader and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resign, seemingly quashing rumours he's planning to make a move for his boss' job.
Pastrnak scores winner, Bruins down Leafs 2-1 in overtime in Game 7
Sheldon Keefe told his players hockey history would remember them one way or another.
Bombarded with spam texts? Stats show the problem is getting worse in Canada
In particular, messages that involve phishing — an attack where a scammer tries to trick the recipient into clicking a malicious link, downloading malware or sharing sensitive information — are on the rise.
King Charles III’s openness about cancer has helped him connect with people in year after coronation
King Charles III's decision to be open about his cancer diagnosis has helped the new monarch connect with the people of Britain and strengthened the monarchy in the year since his dazzling coronation at Westminster Abbey.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
A driver dies after crashing into a security barrier around the White House complex, authorities say
A driver died after a vehicle crashed into an outer perimeter gate of the White House complex, and the incident late Saturday was being investigated as a traffic crash, police said. U.S. President Joe Biden was spending the weekend in Delaware, and the Secret Service said there was no threat to the White House.
Warren Buffett says AI may be better for scammers than society. And he's seen how
Warren Buffett cautioned the tens of thousands of shareholders who packed an arena for his annual meeting that artificial intelligence scams could become "the growth industry of all time."
Trudeau acknowledges charges in Nijjar killing, calls for commitment to democracy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.