Ontario reports jump in new COVID-19 infections but case numbers remain below 200

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TORONTO — COVID-19 infections in Ontario jumped Thursday but the total number of cases reported remains under 200.

Health officials logged 185 new cases and seven additional deaths linked to the disease in the last 24 hours.

A day earlier, the province logged 135 new cases of the novel coronavirus.

Ontario’s daily COVID-19 cases count has remained below 200 for two weeks straight.

Labs processed 19,599 tests on Wednesday which produced a positivity rate of 0.9 per cent, according to the Ministry of Health.

Since the pandemic began, the province has seen 548,794 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19. That number includes 9,307 deaths and 538,124 recoveries.

The seven-day average for the number of cases reported is 155. Last Thursday, that number was 154.

Where are the new COVID-19 cases?

Most of the cases reported by the province Thursday were found in Grey Bruce (22), Toronto (18), and Hamilton (17).

Other areas with case counts in the double digits include Waterloo (13), Peel Region (13), York Region (11), Durham Region (11), Halton Region (10), and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (10).

Ontario is currently operating in Step 3 of its reopening plan. The province will remain in this stage for at least 21 days from July 16 before the vast majority of public health restrictions are lifted.

Another 234 cases of COVID-19 variants of concern reported

Labs confirmed 234 more cases of COVID-19 variants of concern in Ontario on Thursday.

At least 99 of those cases are of the Alpha variant B.1.1.7. The strain’s case total sits at 145,021.

Sixty-nine cases were of the Gamma variant P.1. There are 5,096 confirmed cases in Ontario.

Sixty-one cases of the Delta variant B.1.617.2 were also reported. The total number of Delta variant infections is now 3,754.

Officials also confirmed five other cases of the Beta variant B.1.351, bringing the case total to 1,479.

Update on COVID-19 vaccinations

Over the province’s eight-month vaccination campaign, 18,604,169 needles have gone into arms across Ontario.

That number includes 8,272,485 residents who have received both doses and are considered to be fully vaccinated.

The province say that 125,166 shots were administered on Wednesday.