TORONTO – Just take a few more swabs and immediately the number of new Covid-19 cases skyrockets: 928 registrations today in Ontario out of a total of 26,000 tests processed, with the positivity rate reaching 3.8% that is the highest percentage since the end of May (yesterday, with 25,981 tests and 887 cases, the rate was 3.5%). The seven-day moving average of new cases is now 975 (yesterday it was 940, a week ago it was 794).
According to data held by the Ministry of Health, 424 of today’s cases involving unvaccinated people, 26 people with a single dose of the vaccine, 401 people fully vaccinated and 77 people with an unknown vaccination status.
Unvaccinated people, the ministry points out, make up just 19% of Ontario’s population, but at least 46% of today’s cases. The percentage of young people infected is particularly high: of the totality of today’s cases, 312 (34%) concern people aged 19 or younger.
Hospitalizations: 340 people are now hospitalized due to Covid-19 throughout the province, the highest hospital occupancy recorded since mid-September. Of these, 165 are in intensive care and 95 are breathing with the help of a ventilator.
Regarding the territorial distribution of today’s cases, Toronto reported 163 new cases, the York region 84, Peel 48 and the Halton region 25. The Durham region recorded 32 and Hamilton 50. 9 deaths recorded today, bringing the total, since the beginning of the pandemic, in Ontario, to 10,036. The cases still active (and known) are 8,479: a week ago they were 6,940.
Vaccinations: more than 60,000 vaccine doses were administered in Ontario today. Of these, 15,629 were first doses, 5,002 were second doses, and nearly 40,000 were third doses. Looking at all age groups, 81% of Ontario residents now have at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, 77% have two, and nearly 6% have a third.
In light of the growth in infections and hospitalizations, it is likely that the province’s vaccination passport system will stay in force longer than previously thought: Ontario Minister of Health, Christine Elliott , in fact, still stated that the conditions were in force for this period previously and not until January, it will also be decided on the basis of the data relating to the Omicron variant, the real great unknown of this ending of the year.
