Waterloo Public Health reported 76 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, lifting the total number of cases in the area to 12,475.
This is the fourth straight day the agency has reported more than 60 cases as the rolling seven-day average number of new cases rises to 66.
That number stood at 35.7 just two weeks ago.
Another 49 people have also been cleared of the virus, as the total number of resolved cases reaches 11,766.
No new COVID-19-related deaths were reported in the area, so the death toll remains at 24 including 2 in April. A month ago, there were nine deaths reported over the first nine days of March.
This leaves the area with 453 active COVID-19 cases, a total that has been rising steadily since March 24 when there were just 235 active cases in Waterloo Region.
On the plus side, the number of vaccinations reported in the area jumped significantly on Friday as the total of 107,498 climbed by 3,532 from Thursday’s report.
At Friday’s Waterloo Public Health media update, Region CEO Bruce Lauckner noted that the number does not include those that have been vaccinated at area pharmacies. So while it is reported by the vaccine distribution task force that 15.65 per cent of area residents have been vaccinated, that number could be much higher.
“The province is working on a solution to that,” he told reporters. “Once the province is able to provide us with that information, you’ll see our numbers jump up suddenly.”
There were three new COVID-19 outbreaks reported in the area lifting the total number to 14.
They were reported in the daycare at YMCA Brigadoon in Kitchener, as well as in the trades and at a food processing plant.
Ontario is reporting 4,227 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, the second-highest case count ever recorded, bringing the provincial total to 378,339.
The previous record of cases in a single day was on Jan. 8 amid the second wave at 4,249, although that day had a few hundred previously unreported cases. It is also the first time since January that cases have been over 4,000.
According to Friday’s provincial report, 1,218 cases were recorded in Toronto, 762 in Peel Region, 532 in York Region, 247 in Durham Region, 246 in Ottawa, 174 in Halton Region and 159 in Middlesex-London.
All other local public health units reported fewer than 150 new cases in the provincial report.
The death toll in the province has risen to 7,512 as 18 more deaths were recorded.
–With files from Global News’ Gabby Rodrigues