A total of 58.18 per cent of area residents over the age of 18 have now had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to Waterloo Region’s vaccine distribution task force.
On Thursday, the agency reported there have now been 299,101 doses administered in the area, 5,082 more than it reported a day earlier.
The number of people who have had two doses of vaccine has now risen to 19,115, which accounts for 4.1 per cent of residents over the age of 18.
Waterloo Public Health reported another 55 positive tests for the coronavirus on Thursday, lifting the total number of COVID-19 cases in the area to 15,796.
Another 49 people were also cleared of the virus, pushing the total number of resolved cases to 15,137.
No new COVID-19-related deaths were reported for the fifth straight day, leaving the death toll in the area at 256 including four victims this month alone.
This leaves the area with 387 active COVID-19 cases, slightly above what was reported on Wednesday.
There are currently 28 people in area hospitals as a result of COVID-19 including 23 who are in intensive care.
There are now eight active COVID-19 outbreaks after one was declared at a construction site involving three people.
Elsewhere, Ontario reported 1,135 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday. The provincial total now stands at 527,180.
Thursday’s case count is up slightly from Wednesday’s which saw 1,095 new infections but test positivity was at 3.6 per cent, the lowest seen since mid-March. On Tuesday, 1,039 new cases were recorded and 1,446 on Monday.
According to Thursday’s report, 316 cases were recorded in Toronto, 271 in Peel Region, and 75 in York Region and 66 in Hamilton.
All other local public health units reported fewer than 50 new cases in the provincial report.
The death toll in the province has risen to 8,697 as 19 more deaths were recorded.
–With files from Global News’ Gabby Rodrigues