Ontario reports under 600 new COVID-19 cases, 7 more deaths

Ontario is reporting 591 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, as the count drops below 600 for the first time in a week. The provincial case total now stands at 613,522.

For comparison, last Wednesday saw 512 new cases and the previous Wednesday saw 454. All three Wednesday’s saw similar testing volumes in the 30,000 range.

Of the 591 new cases recorded, the data showed 293 were unvaccinated people, 14 were partially vaccinated people, 237 were fully vaccinated people and for 47 people the vaccination status was unknown.

According to Wednesday’s report, 74 cases were recorded in Toronto, 63 in Windsor-Essex, 60 in Simcoe Muskoka, 48 in York Region, and 43 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 9,981 as seven more deaths were reported.

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

As of 8 p.m. on Tuesday, 12,706 vaccines (4,948 for a first shot and 7,758 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 86.1 per cent of the eligible (12 and older) population. First dose coverage stands at 89 per cent.

Meanwhile, 598,134 Ontario residents were reported to have recovered from COVID-19, which is around 97 per cent of known cases. Resolved cases increased by 664 from the previous day.

Active cases in Ontario now stand at 5,407 — down from the previous day when it was at 5,487, but is up from Nov. 17 when it was at 4,741. 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 686, which is up from the week prior when it was 587. A month ago, the seven-day average was around 375.

The government said 30,092 tests were processed in the previous 24 hours. There are 15,681 tests currently under investigation.

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

Hospitalizations in Ontario

Ontario reported 289 people in general hospital wards with COVID-19 (up by seven from the previous day) with 137 patients in intensive care units (up by three) and 118 patients in intensive care units on a ventilator (up by seven).

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, 104 were unvaccinated, 5 were partially vaccinated and 59 were fully vaccinated. For those in ICUs, 66 were unvaccinated while 3 were partially vaccinated and 14 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:

• 306,692 people are male — an increase of 295 cases.
• 304,660 people are female — an increase of 292 cases.
• 17,791 people are under the age of four — an increase of 35 cases.
• 34,058 people are 5 to 11 — an increase of 132 cases.
• 54,577 people are 12 to 19 — an increase of 31 cases.
• 229,702 people are 20 to 39 — an increase of 166 cases.
• 171,389 people are 40 to 59 — an increase of 149 cases.
• 79,375 people are 60 to 79 — an increase of 70 cases.
• 26,524 people are 80 and over — an increase of 8 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: 694
• Deaths reported in ages 60 to 79: 3,278
• Deaths reported in ages 80 and older: 5,894
• 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 666 out of 4,844 schools in Ontario with at least one COVID-19 case.

On Wednesday, Ontario reported 170 new COVID-19 cases in schools — with 154 among students, 13 among staff and three individuals were not identified. The data was collected between Monday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon — a 24 hour period.

There are 1,397 active infections among both students and staff, compared with 1,357 active cases reported the previous day.

Fifteen 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 four current outbreaks in homes, which is up by one from the previous day.

The ministry also indicated there are currently three active cases among long-term care residents and 9 active cases among staff — up by one for both in the last day.