Ontario reports 3,301 new COVID-19 cases, 4 deaths

Ontario is reporting 3,301 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, as daily positive infections continue to rise amid the highly contagious Omicron variant. This brings the total case count in the province to 645,766.

This is more than double the case count reported just one week ago. For comparison, last Saturday the province reported 1,607 cases.

Over the last three days, there were 3,124 new cases reported Friday, 2,421 on Thursday, and 1,808 on Wednesday.

The seven-day average jumped to 2,156 compared to last Saturday where the average was recorded at 1,194.

Four more deaths were recorded on Saturday, bringing the provincial death toll to 10,111.

The Ministry of Health reported that out of 3,301 reported cases, 718 were among those who are unvaccinated, 104 were among those who are partially vaccinated and 141 have an unknown vaccination status. The remaining 2,338 cases were reported among people who are fully vaccinated.

According to the latest provincial data, 851 cases were recorded in Toronto, 256 cases were recorded in Ottawa, 246 in Peel Region, 242 in York Region, 189 in Halton Region, 186 in Simcoe Muskoka District, and 150 in Durham Region.

All other public health units in Ontario recorded under 150 cases.

However, as infections soar, patients with COVID in ICUs (intensive care units) have remained relatively stable but are overall on a slow rise. Experts have said it could take up to two weeks or more following a surge in new cases to see a sharper rise in hospitalizations/ICUs.

The data reported 382 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 (up by 24 from the previous day).

There are 154 patients in intensive care units due to COVID-19 (down by three from the previous day), and 99 patients in intensive care units on a ventilator (up by one from the previous day).

For those in general hospital wards with COVID, 121 were unvaccinated, 9 were partially vaccinated and 88 were fully vaccinated.

For those in ICUs, 75 were unvaccinated while 5 were partially vaccinated and 33 were fully vaccinated.

2:03 Ontario sees long lines for rapid COVID test kits and boosters

• Ontario sees long lines for rapid COVID test kits and boosters
• Single-cloth masks not effective against Omicron, head of Ontario science table says
• COVID-19: Ontario officials monitoring Omicron data ‘very closely,’ top doctor says
• Ontario looking into providing support for businesses following new COVID-19 restrictions: Finance minister
• COVID-19: Ontario likely to see ‘hardest wave’ of pandemic as Omicron cases surge

Previous Video

Next Video

Within the last 24 hours, 54,407 tests were completed. The data also reported 36,494 tests are under investigation.

Test positivity hit 8.9 per cent – a significant increase compared to last Saturday, when test positivity was recorded at 4.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, the province also reported 1,207 cases were deemed resolved Saturday. A total of 617,773 Ontario residents were reported to have recovered from the virus.

Active cases in Ontario now stand at 17,882  — up from the previous day when it was at 15,792. 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.

As of 8 p.m. on Friday, there are more than 11.3 million people fully immunized with two doses. There are more than 1.7 million Ontarians who have received a booster shot.

According to the latest data, 87.8 per cent of the eligible population aged 12 and older are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. At least 90.4 per cent have received at least one dose.

For young children aged five to 11, first dose coverage stands at 35 per cent — 378,211 doses out of just over one million eligible children.

Over 168,923 doses were administered in the last 24 hours. More than 25.1 million doses have been administered since the rollout of vaccines began last year.

— With files from Gabby Rodrigues