Ontario reports 711 new COVID-19 cases, highest single-day count in nearly 2 months | Globalnews.ca

Ontario is reporting 711 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the largest increase in cases since Sept. 24 when 727 cases were recorded. The provincial case total now stands at 609,429.

For comparison, last Thursday saw 642 new cases and the previous Thursday saw 438. All three Thursday’s saw similar testing volumes in the 30,000 range.

Of the 711 new cases recorded, the data showed 322 were unvaccinated people, 28 were partially vaccinated people, 314 were fully vaccinated people and for 47 people the vaccination status was unknown.

According to Thursday’s report, 74 cases were recorded in Toronto, 71 in Windsor-Essex, 67 in Simcoe-Muskoka, 42 in Ottawa, 40 in Peel Region, 39 in York Region and 37 each in Waterloo and KFLA. 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 9,955 as five more deaths were reported.

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

As of 8 p.m. on Wednesday, 13,862 vaccines (5,153 for a first shot and 8,709 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 85.7 per cent of the eligible (12 and older) population. First dose coverage stands at 88.8 per cent.

Meanwhile, 594,602 Ontario residents were reported to have recovered from COVID-19, which is around 97 per cent of known cases. Resolved cases increased by 575 from the previous day.

Active cases in Ontario now stand at 4,872 — up from the previous day when it was at 4,741, and is up from Nov. 11 when it was at 4,269. 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 597, which is up from the week prior when it was 532. A month ago, the seven-day average was around 400.

The government said 34,347 tests were processed in the previous 24 hours. There are 12,480 tests currently under investigation.

Test positivity hit 2 per cent. Last week, test positivity was at 2.1 per cent.

Hospitalizations in Ontario

Ontario reported 278 people in general hospital wards with COVID-19 (up by four from the previous day) with 129 patients in intensive care units (down by four) and 104 patients in intensive care units on a ventilator (down by four).

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, 90 were unvaccinated, 14 were partially vaccinated and 72 were fully vaccinated. For those in ICUs, 60 were unvaccinated while 4 were partially vaccinated and 17 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:

• 304,658 people are male — an increase of 348 cases.
• 302,614 people are female — an increase of 374 cases.
• 17,609 people are under the age of four — an increase of 37 cases.
• 33,279 people are 5 to 11 — an increase of 114 cases.
• 54,295 people are 12 to 19 — an increase of 49 cases.
• 228,512 people are 20 to 39 — an increase of 202 cases.
• 170,343 people are 40 to 59 — an increase of 167 cases.
• 78,839 people are 60 to 79 — an increase of 104 cases.
• 26,444 people are 80 and over — an increase of 37 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: 3,265
• Deaths reported in ages 80 and older: 5,881
• 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 589 out of 4,844 schools in Ontario with at least one COVID-19 case.

On Thursday, Ontario reported 129 new COVID-19 cases in schools — with 114 among students, 14 among staff and one individual was not identified. The data was collected between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday afternoon — a 24-hour period.

There are 1,200 active infections among both students and staff, compared with 1,074 active cases reported the previous day.

Five 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 two 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 4 active cases among staff — unchanged for both in the last day.

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