Ontario reports 512 new COVID-19 cases and 12 deaths, including person under 20

Ford on regional restrictions, pharmacy testing Premier Doug Ford answers questions on symptomatic testing in pharmacies and allowing regions to dictate COVID-19 restrictions.

TORONTO — Ontario health officials are reporting 512 new cases of COVID-19 and 12 additional deaths, one of which occured in an individual under the age of 20.

The total number of COVID-19-related fatalities in the province is now 9,950.

A spokeswoman for Health Minister Christine Elliott says the government is sending its condolences to the family of the deceased young person, and won't offer any more information out of respect for their privacy.

Today’s case count comes after officials logged 481 new cases on Tuesday, 552 new cases on Monday and 666 new cases on Sunday.

Ontario’s rolling seven-day average now stands at 587, up from 502 at this point last week.

With 18,965 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the positivity rate in the province stands at about 2.5 per cent.

Of the new infections reported Wednesday, 250 cases involved people who are unvaccinated, 19 were in those partially vaccinated and 41 were in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown. The remaining 202 infections involved people who are fully vaccinated.

Health experts have noted the number of COVID-19 infections identified in fully vaccinated individuals will naturally increase as more people get both of their shots. Vaccination helps reduce the risk of severe symptoms related to COVID-19 as well as hospitalization.

The province stated at least 274 people are in hospital due to COVID-19. Of those hospitalized, 176 were admitted in the last 24 hours — 92 of which were unvaccinated, 16 were partially vaccinated and 68 were fully vaccinated.

The province says 133 patients are in intensive care due to COVID-19.

The province deemed 573 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Wednesday, bringing Ontario’s number of recovered patients up to 594,027.

Today’s report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 608,718, including deaths and recoveries.

WHERE ARE THE NEW COVID-19 CASES?

In the Greater Toronto Area, officials reported 54 new cases in Toronto, 26 new cases in Peel Region, 24 new cases in York Region and 29 new cases in Durham Region.

Outside of the GTA, regions that reported more than 30 new infections include Ottawa (43), Windsor-Essex (38) and Simcoe-Muskoka (49).

All other regions reported fewer than 30 new cases of the virus.

According to the province’s epidemiology report, of the 481 new infections reported on Wednesday, 112 cases were identified in children under the age of 12.

The province also recorded 35 cases in youth between the ages of 12 and 19 and another 126 cases in people between the ages of 20 and 39.

On Wednesday, 128 COVID-19 infections were found in schools across Ontario. Of the infections found in schools, 110 were recorded in students, 16 were in staff and two were in unidentified individuals.

There are 558 schools with at least one confirmed case and two facilities are currently closed as a result.

OVER 11.1M PEOPLE FULLY VACCINATED IN ONTARIO

The province reports that 11,169,767 people in Ontario have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and are now considered fully vaccinated against the virus.

In the last 24-hour period, officials said 15,040 doses of the vaccine were administered to Ontario residents.

Just over 22.7 million vaccine doses have been administered in the province since the rollout began last year.