Ontario reports more than 500 new COVID-19 cases for fourth straight day
Ontario health officials are reporting just over 500 new cases of COVID-19 for the fourth straight day.
Health officials confirmed 530 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Sunday after officials reported 590 on Thursday, 574 on Friday and 502 on Saturday.
Ontario’s rolling seven-day average now stands at 514, down from 791 at this point last week.
With 20,731 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the positivity rate in the province rose from 2.1 on Saturday to 2.6 per cent on Sunday.
The province also reported that seven more people have died due to COVID-19 in the previous 24-hour period, bringing the total number of deaths to 8,957.
There are currently 373 people in hospital due to the disease, but the province has said that number may be an underestimate as not all hospitals reported their data this past weekend. At least 426 patients are in intensive care and 273 are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.
The province deemed 763 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Sunday, bringing Ontario’s number of recovered patients up to 525,125.
Sunday’s report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 539,683, including deaths and recoveries.
WHERE ARE THE COVID-19 CASES IN ONTARIO
Many of the new cases reported are concentrated in hot spot regions in the Greater Toronto Area. Officials reported 102 new cases in Toronto, 81 new cases in Peel Region, 21 new cases in Durham Region and 14 new cases in York Region.
The province confirmed an additional 785 new cases of B.1.1.7 (U.K. variant) in Ontario on Sunday. The total case count for the strain now stands at 139,482.
Officials identified three new cases of B.1.351 (South African variant), bringing the total case count in the province to 1,137.
In addition, the province added nine more cases of P.1 (Brazilian variant), which brings its total number of cases to 4,133.
Ontario does not currently report how many cases of the B.1.617 variant, originally found in India, are found in the province.
Ontario entered the first step of its reopening plan on Friday, allowing patios and some non-essential retail to open for the first time in months.
MORE THAN 1.7M PEOPLE FULLY VACCINATED IN ONTARIO
The province reports that 1,796,782 people in Ontario have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and are now considered vaccinated against the disease.
In the last 24-hour period, officials said 186,415 doses of the vaccine were administered to Ontario residents.
Just over 11.2 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Princess Anne lays wreath at B.C. veteran's cemetery; receives 21-gun salute
Princess Anne paid tribute to veterans buried at a cemetery in British Columbia today, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
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.
Macklem tries to stay out of the fray as MPs do their best to use him to score points
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem navigates a political minefield every time he testifies before the House of Commons finance committee.