Ontario reports more than 800 new COVID-19 cases for third straight day
Ontario health officials are reporting more than 800 new COVID-19 cases for a third day in a row.
The province confirmed 811 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Sunday, which comes a day after officials reported a fourth wave high of 944 cases.
Previously, officials logged 807 new cases on Friday and 865 new cases on Thursday.
Ontario’s rolling seven-day average now stands at 757, up from 688 at this point last week. The province’s seven-day average has been increasing for weeks now.
With 22,410 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the positivity rate in the province is 2.9 per cent.
Of the new infections reported Sunday, 643 cases involved people who are either unvaccinated, partially vaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown. The remaining 168 infections involved people who are fully vaccinated.
The province recorded three new deaths on Sunday, bringing the total death tally in the province to 9,548.
Two of the three deaths reported today occurred more than two months ago, the Ministry of Health said. The deaths are being reported as part of a data catch-up.
At least 179 patients are in intensive care in Ontario hospitals and 104 are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.
The province deemed 573 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Sunday, bringing Ontario’s number of recovered patients up to 553,549.
Today’s report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 569,633, including deaths and recoveries.
WHERE ARE THE NEW COVID-19 CASES IN ONTARIO
Most of the new cases were found in parts of the Greater Toronto Area. Officials reported 156 new cases in Toronto, 100 new cases in Peel Region, 59 new cases in York Region, 46 new cases in Durham Region and 33 new cases in Halton Region.
Officials also reported 71 new cases in Hamilton, 68 new cases in Windsor-Essex, 52 new cases in Ottawa, 42 new cases in Niagara Region and 34 new cases in Simcoe Muskoka,.
All other regions reported fewer than 30 new cases of the disease.
The latest modelling data from the province showed that Ontario is facing a "substantial" fourth wave of the pandemic and could see daily case counts reach 9,000 by October in a worst-case scenario if residents do not reduce their contacts.
In a more optimistic scenario, based on a 30 per cent reduction in contacts, the predictions found that case counts could begin declining within days and dip under 500 by October.
VARIANTS OF CONCERN IN ONTARIO UPDATE
The province detected several more cases of variants of concern on Sunday. Officials are analyzing cases on an ongoing basis to detect mutations and variants of concerns.
The province confirmed two new case of Alpha B.1.1.7 on Sunday. The total case count for the strain now stands at 146,430.
Officials identified no new cases of the Beta B.1.351 variant and so the total case count in the province stood at 1,500.
In addition, the province also found one new case of the Gamma P.1 variant, which brings its total number of cases to 5,223.
As for the Delta variant, also known as the B.1.617 variant, officials reported 632 new cases of the strain, which brings the total number in the province to 12,467.
MORE THAN 10M PEOPLE FULLY VACCINATED IN ONTARIO
The province reports that 10,049,092 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 32,450 doses of the vaccine were administered to Ontario residents.
Just over 20.9 million vaccine doses have been administered in the province since the rollout began last year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.