Ontario reports more than 500 new COVID-19 cases for third straight day
Ontario health officials are reporting just over 500 new cases of COVID-19 for the third straight day.
The province confirmed 502 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Saturday, which comes after officials reported 590 new infections on Thursday and 574 new infections on Friday.
Ontario’s rolling seven-day average now stands at 533, down from 844 at this point last week.
With 24,099 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the positivity rate in the province stood at 2.1 per cent on Saturday.
The province also reported that 15 more people have died due to COVID-19 in the previous 24-hour period, bringing the total number of deaths to 8,950.
There are currently 447 people in hospital due to the disease. At least 422 of these patients are in intensive care and 277 are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.
The province deemed 830 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Saturday, bringing Ontario’s number of recovered patients up to 524,362.
Saturday’s report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 539,153, including deaths and recoveries.
WHERE ARE THE COVID-19 CASES IN ONTARIO
Most of the new cases reported are concentrated in hot spot regions in the Greater Toronto Area. Officials reported 89 new cases in Toronto, 71 new cases in Peel Region, 37 new cases in York Region and 31 new cases in Durham Region.
The province confirmed an additional 1,390 new cases of B.1.1.7 (U.K. variant) in Ontario on Saturday. The total case count for the strain now stands at 138,697.
Officials identified six new cases of B.1.351 (South African variant), bringing the total case count in the province to 1,134.
In addition, the province added 25 more cases of P.1 (Brazilian variant), which brings its total number of cases to 4,124.
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 1.6M PEOPLE FULLY VACCINATED IN ONTARIO
The province reports that 1,667,761 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 195,032 doses of the vaccine were administered to Ontario residents.
Just over 11 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

'No concessions' St-Onge says in $100M a year news deal with Google
The Canadian government has reached a deal with Google over the Online News Act that will see the tech giant pay $100 million annually to publishers, and continue to allow access to Canadian news content on its platform. This comes after Google had threatened to block news on its platform when the contentious new rules come into effect next month.
Here is what Canada's drug shortage situation looks like right now
Compared to the peak pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, Canada experienced an uptick in prescription drug shortages in 2022 that Health Canada says has continued throughout 2023.
opinion Don Martin: With Trudeau resignation fever rising, a Conservative nightmare appears
With speculation rising that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will follow his father's footsteps in the snow to a pre-election resignation, political columnist Don Martin focuses on one Liberal cabinet minister who's emerging as leadership material -- and who stands out as a fresh-faced contrast to the often 'angry and abrasive' leader of the Conservatives.
U.S. says alleged murder plotter was directed by India and mentioned B.C. killing
U.S. officials have charged an Indian national in a plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on American soil – in a case they say is connected to the slaying of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.
Manslaughter charges laid against man accused of trafficking gun to teen who killed Edmonton police officers
A 19-year-old man accused of trafficking a firearm to the 16-year-old boy who killed two Edmonton police officers has been charged with manslaughter.
opinion Five revelations from best-seller 'Endgame' that are sure to upset the Royal Family
Royal commentator Afua Hagan on five revelations in a new book that's sure to send shockwaves through the Royal Family's ranks.
Provinces are moving away from pap smears, but more infrastructure is needed
Some provinces are moving to HPV tests as the primary mode of cervical cancer screening, and others are close behind, an expert says.
Sask. man accused of sexually assaulting 3 boys arrested at daycare
An Assiniboia, Sask. man stands accused of sexually assaulting three boys under the age of 12 was arrested at a home-based daycare.
New technology installed beneath Detroit street can charge electric vehicles as they drive
Crews have installed what's billed as the nation's first wireless-charging public roadway for electric vehicles beneath a street just west of downtown Detroit.