Ontario reports more than 700 new COVID-19 cases, province hits vaccine milestone

TORONTO -

Ontario is reporting more than 700 new COVID-19 cases and six additional deaths.

Health officials reported 715 new cases in Ontario on Sunday, which is a slight drop from the 821 infections on Saturday.

The highest number of new cases in a single day this week was on Thursday when 864 infections were logged.

On Sunday, 540 cases are in individuals who are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status, while 175 are in fully vaccinated individuals.

Ontario's rolling seven-day average, which has declined the past two days, now stands at 709.

With 29,906 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the positivity rate in the province is 2.3 per cent.

There are currently 245 people in Ontario hospitals with COVID-19. At least 182 patients are in intensive care and 129 are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator. The total number of patients in hospitals may appear lower on weekends because not all hospitals report data.

Today’s report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 579,584, including deaths and recoveries.

According to Health Minister Christine Elliott, as of Sunday more than 85 per cent of Ontarians 12 and above have recieved at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Most of the new cases were found in parts of the Greater Toronto Area. Officials reported 139 new cases in Toronto, 59 new cases in Peel Region, 68 new cases in York Region, and 66 in Durham Region.

The province reports that 10,299,445 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 29,975 doses of the vaccine were administered to Ontario residents.

More than 21.3 million vaccine doses have been administered in the province since the rollout began last year.