Ontario reports 613 new COVID-19 cases, 6 more deaths

Ontario is reporting 613 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, as cases continue to rise week over week. The provincial case total now stands at 612,931.

For comparison, last Tuesday saw 481 new cases and the previous Tuesday saw 441. All three Tuesday’s saw similar testing volumes in the 20,000 range.

Of the 613 new cases recorded, the data showed 288 were unvaccinated people, 30 were partially vaccinated people, 266 were fully vaccinated people and for 29 people the vaccination status was unknown.

According to Tuesday’s report, 72 cases were recorded in Toronto, 73 in Simcoe Muskoka, 47 in York Region, 40 in Waterloo Region, and 35 in Peel Region. All other local public health units reported fewer than 35 new cases in the provincial report.

The death toll in the province has risen to 9,974 as six more deaths were reported.

Vaccinations, recoveries, testing, 7-day average in Ontario

As of 8 p.m. on Monday, 11,096 vaccines (4,188 for a first shot and 6,908 for a second shot) were administered in the last day.

There are more than 11.2 million people fully immunized with two doses, which is 86 per cent of the eligible (12 and older) population. First dose coverage stands at 89 per cent.

Meanwhile, 597,470 Ontario residents were reported to have recovered from COVID-19, which is around 97 per cent of known cases. Resolved cases increased by 717 from the previous day.

Active cases in Ontario now stand at 5,487 — down from the previous day when it was at 5,597, but is up from Nov. 16 when it was at 4,814. At the peak of the second wave coronavirus surge in January, active cases hit just above 30,000. In the third wave in April, active cases topped 43,000.

The seven-day average has now reached 675, which is up from the week prior when it was 579. A month ago, the seven-day average was around 400.

The government said 19,859 tests were processed in the previous 24 hours. There are 14,591 tests currently under investigation.

Test positivity hit 3.1 per cent. Last week, test positivity was at 2.5 per cent.

Hospitalizations in Ontario

Ontario reported 282 people in general hospital wards with COVID-19 (up by 146 from the previous day) with 134 patients in intensive care units (up by one) and 111 patients in intensive care units on a ventilator (unchanged).

In the third wave peak, which was the worst wave for hospitalizations, the province saw as many as 900 patients in ICUs with COVID and almost 2,400 in general hospital wards.

For those in general hospital wards with COVID, 95 were unvaccinated, 9 were partially vaccinated and 66 were fully vaccinated. For those in ICUs, 60 were unvaccinated while 2 were partially vaccinated and 16 were fully vaccinated.

Provincial officials noted this new dataset with vaccination status for hospitalizations will grow and improve over time as more information is collected. There may also be a discrepancy due to how and when the information for both is collected.

Here is a breakdown of the total cases in Ontario by gender and age:

• 306,397 people are male — an increase of 289 cases.
• 304,368 people are female — an increase of 335 cases.
• 17,756 people are under the age of four — an increase of 27 cases.
• 33,926 people are 5 to 11 — an increase of 80 cases.
• 54,546 people are 12 to 19 — an increase of 45 cases.
• 229,536 people are 20 to 39 — an increase of 199 cases.
• 171,240 people are 40 to 59 — an increase of 164 cases.
• 79,305 people are 60 to 79 — an increase of 86 cases.
• 26,516 people are 80 and over — an increase of 12 cases.
• The province notes that not all cases have a reported age or gender.

Here is a breakdown of the total deaths related to COVID-19 by age:

• Deaths reported in ages 19 and under: Seven
• Deaths reported in ages 20 to 39: 107
• Deaths reported in ages 40 to 59: 693
• Deaths reported in ages 60 to 79: 3,275
• Deaths reported in ages 80 and older: 5,892
• The province notes there may be a reporting delay for deaths and data

Cases among students and staff at Ontario schools

Meanwhile, government figures show there are currently 647 out of 4,844 schools in Ontario with at least one COVID-19 case.

On Tuesday, Ontario reported 277 new COVID-19 cases in schools — with 247 among students and 30 among staff. The data was collected between Friday afternoon and Monday afternoon — a three-day period.

There are 1,357 active infections among both students and staff, compared with 1,265 active cases reported the previous day.

Ten schools are closed as a result of positive cases.

Cases, deaths and outbreaks in Ontario long-term care homes

According to the Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care, there have been 3,824 deaths reported among residents and patients in long-term care homes across Ontario, which is unchanged since the previous day. Thirteen virus-related deaths in total have been reported among staff.

There are three current outbreaks in homes, which is unchanged from the previous day.

The ministry also indicated there are currently two active cases among long-term care residents and 8 active cases among staff — unchanged for both in the last day.