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
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.