Ontario reports more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases for first time in six months

Ontario bracing for more Omicron cases While the spread of the new Omicron variant in Ontario is worrisome, experts say supressing the Delta variant has to be prioritized.

TORONTO — Ontario health officials are reporting more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases for the first time since late spring.

The province confirmed 1,031 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday. The last time the province reported more than 1,000 new cases in a single day was on May 30 when 1,033 new cases were logged.

This past week, officials reported 788 new cases on Monday, 687 new cases on Tuesday, 780 new cases on Wednesday and 949 new cases on Thursday.

Ontario’s rolling seven-day average now stands at 866, up from 711 at this point last week.

With 39,748 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the positivity rate in the province stands at about 2.9 per cent.

Of the new infections reported Friday, 589 cases involved people who are unvaccinated, partially vaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown. The remaining 442 infections involved people who are fully vaccinated.

Health experts have said that the number of infections in fully vaccinated individuals will rise as more people get the vaccine.

The province recorded four more deaths on Friday, bringing the total death tally in the province to 10,016.

There are currently at least 146 people being treated for COVID-19 in Ontario intensive care units. Health Minister Christine Elliott says that of those patients, 119 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status and 27 are fully vaccinated.

The province deemed 742 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Friday, bringing Ontario’s number of recovered patients up to 604,027.

Today’s report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 621,260, including deaths and recoveries.

WHERE ARE THE NEW COVID-19 CASES IN ONTARIO?

In the Greater Toronto Area, officials reported 133 new cases in Toronto, 60 new cases in Peel Region, 56 new cases in York Region, 44 new cases in Durham Region and 27 new cases in Halton Region.

Officials reported 106 new cases in Simcoe Muskoka, 68 new cases in Windsor-Essex, 59 new cases in the Sudbury area, 58 new cases in Ottawa, and 47 new cases in Hamilton. All other regions of the province had fewer than 40 new cases each.

According to the province’s epidemiology report, of the 1,031 new infections reported on Friday, 273 cases were identified in children under the age of 12.

The province also recorded 87 cases in youth between the ages of 12 and 19 and another 290 cases in people between the ages of 20 and 39.

As well, officials found 247 cases in people between the ages of 40 and 59, 121 cases in people between the ages of 60 and 79 and 15 cases in people over the age of 80.

On Friday, officials reported 172 new cases in Ontario schools, including 152 cases involving students and 18 cases involving staff. Officials did not release information about the remaining two cases.

The province reported that 792 out of 4,844 schools have at least one case of COVID-19. Currently, nine schools are closed due to outbreaks.

As of Friday, 11 cases of the new Omicron variant have been identified in Ontario. The latest case was reported in Durham Region.