Ontario's pandemic death toll hits 10,000 as province logs nearly 700 new COVID-19 cases

Ontario's pandemic death toll hit 10,000 people on Tuesday as the province reported nearly 700 new COVID-19 cases.

On Tuesday, health officials logged an additional 687 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the seven-day average for the number of infections reported in the province to 794.

According to the province, there are 266 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Ontario and 153 people are in ICU with the disease.

On Sunday, Ontario reported the highest number of new cases in a single day since May with 964 infections logged. On Monday, the case count declined to 788.

Ontario now has four confirmed cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, which are all located in Ottawa.

Of the cases logged today, 310 were found unvaccinated individuals, 308 were in those fully vaccinated, and 19 cases were recorded in partially vaccinated individuals. The vaccination status of the remaining 50 cases is unknown. 

Ontario reported three COVID-19-related deaths on Tuesday, pushing the number of fatalities since the start of the pandemic to 10,000.

A 77-year-old Barrie man was the first person in Ontario to die from COVID-19. He died in hospital after returning home from a trip to the United Kingdom in March 2020.

At the time, the man wasn't listed as a confirmed case, but was under investigation for the virus. He tested positive after his death.

The first COVID-19 death in Ontario came just hours after Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency in the province. 

"We're facing an unprecedented time in our history," Ford said at the time. "This was a decision that was not made lightly. COVID-19 constitutes a danger of major proportions."

At the time, Ontario had reported a total of 185 cases of COVID-19. The province's case count now stands at 618,490.