Ontario reports fewer than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases on anniversary of first infection

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TORONTO — Ontario is reporting fewer than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases Monday as the province marks the anniversary of detecting its first infection.

The 1,958 cases mark a decrease from Sunday’s report when 2,417 were logged.

With 35,968 tests for the disease processed in the last 24-hour period, Ontario's COVID-19 positivity rate stands at 5.5 per cent.

Monday’s report brings the province’s lab-confirmed case total to 256,960, including 5,846 deaths and 227,494 recoveries.

Forty-three of those deaths occurred in the previous day, 27 of which were residents of a long-term care home.

The province’s seven-day average for number of cases reported is 2,370, down significantly from the 3,034 reported the same time last week. There are currently 23,620 active cases of the novel coronavirus in Ontario.

A year ago today, Ontario confirmed its first case of COVID-19 after a 56-year-old man arrived at Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto with what appeared to be a mild case of pneumonia.

Doctors made the decision to admit him due to an unusual X-ray and his recent travel to China.

Ontario health officials would confirm its first case of the “Wuhan Novel Coronavirus” on Jan. 25, 2020.

READ MORE: One year of COVID-19 in Ontario: Where are we now?

A number of public health measures took effect in the months that followed, namely mask wearing, social distancing and some form of lockdown in the province.

On Dec. 26, Ontario Premier Doug Ford issued a province-wide lockdown that shuttered all non-essential businesses and prohibited in-person dining at bars and restaurants.

Then, as the number of COVID-19 cases neared 4,000 a day in early January, Ford declared a state of emergency and issued a stay-at home order set to last a minimum of 28 days.

Last week, Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams said the province would need to see daily COVID-19 cases fall to the 1,000 mark before the lockdown orders can be lifted.

Where are the new COVID-19 cases?

Most of the new infections were found in Ontario’s COVID-19 hot spots.

According to data provided by the province, 727 cases were found in Toronto, 365 were found in Peel Region and 157 in York Region.

A handful of other public health units reported case numbers in the medium to high double digits, including Windsor-Essex (85), Niagara (82) and Durham Region (62).

Right now, there are 1,398 patients in hospital with COVID-19, though more than 10 per cent of hospitals usually don’t report a daily bed census on Mondays. Of those patients, the province says that 397 are being treated in an intensive care unit and 283 are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.

Update on vaccinations

So far, 286,110 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered throughout Ontario.

At least 5,537 of those shots were administered in the previous day.

The province says that 71,256 people have received their required first and second shots and are considered fully vaccinated at this point.

Ford is set to provide an update on the province’s COVID-19 vaccination plan this afternoon.

With files from Katherine DeClerq