Ontario reports nearly 800 new COVID-19 cases, 4 more deaths | Globalnews.ca

Ontario is reporting 793 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, the second straight day counts are in the 700s as cases continue to rise week over week. The provincial case total now stands at 610,222.

For comparison, last Friday saw 598 new cases and the previous Friday saw 563. All three Friday’s saw similar testing volumes in the 30,000 range.

Of the 793 new cases recorded, the data showed 385 were unvaccinated people, 22 were partially vaccinated people, 323 were fully vaccinated people and for 63 people the vaccination status was unknown.

According to Friday’s report, 115 cases were recorded in Toronto, 71 in Simcoe-Muskoka, 60 in York Region, 55 in Windsor-Essex, 54 in Peel Region and 41 in Hamilton. All other local public health units reported fewer than 40 new cases in the provincial report.

The death toll in the province has risen to 9,959 as four more deaths were reported.

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

As of 8 p.m. on Thursday, 13,897 vaccines (5,027 for a first shot and 8,870 for a second shot) were administered in the last day.

There are more than 11.1 million people fully immunized with two doses, which is 85.8 per cent of the eligible (12 and older) population. First dose coverage stands at 88.9 per cent.

Meanwhile, 595,169 Ontario residents were reported to have recovered from COVID-19, which is around 97 per cent of known cases. Resolved cases increased by 567 from the previous day.

Active cases in Ontario now stand at 5,094 — up from the previous day when it was at 4,872, and is up from Nov. 12 when it was at 4,400. 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 625, which is up from the week prior when it was 537. A month ago, the seven-day average was around 400.

The government said 30,515 tests were processed in the previous 24 hours. There are 11,899 tests currently under investigation.

Test positivity hit 2.6 per cent. Last week, test positivity was at 2.5 per cent.

Hospitalizations in Ontario

Ontario reported 269 people in general hospital wards with COVID-19 (down by 9 from the previous day) with 128 patients in intensive care units (down by one) and 107 patients in intensive care units on a ventilator (up by three).

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, 13 were partially vaccinated and 64 were fully vaccinated. For those in ICUs, 55 were unvaccinated while 6 were partially vaccinated and 12 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:

• 305,054 people are male — an increase of 396 cases.
• 303,003 people are female — an increase of 389 cases.
• 17,637 people are under the age of four — an increase of 28 cases.
• 33,445 people are 5 to 11 — an increase of 166 cases.
• 54,340 people are 12 to 19 — an increase of 45 cases.
• 228,727 people are 20 to 39 — an increase of 215 cases.
• 170,541 people are 40 to 59 — an increase of 198 cases.
• 78,959 people are 60 to 79 — an increase of 120 cases.
• 26,467 people are 80 and over — an increase of 23 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: 3,268 (+3)
• Deaths reported in ages 80 and older: 5,882 (+1)
• The province notes there may be a reporting delay for deaths and data

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, an increase of one 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 and up by four, respectively, in the last day.

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