Ontario reports fewer than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases

Ontario is reporting 966 new COVID-19 cases and 11 additional deaths on Tuesday.

Locally, there are 253 new cases in Toronto, 223 in Peel and 99 in York Region.

The province completed nearly 30,800 tests in the last 24 hour period compared to over 35,000 tests a day ago.

Despite a drop in testing the positivity rate drops slightly to 2,9 per cent from 3.1 per cent a day ago.

The daily increase dips below 1,000 new infections after surpassing that mark for six straight days. Over the weekend the province crossed the 300,000 mark of total cases since the pandemic began.

The province reported 1,023 COVID-19 cases and 6 deaths on Monday.

The rolling seven-day average drops by one to 1,098 cases. The average has levelled off in the last two week after consistently declining each day since Jan. 11, where it peaked at 3,555.

The latest provincial numbers confirm seven additional cases of the B.1.1.7 variant first detected in the UK.

There are now 542 cumulative cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, 27 cases of the B 1.351 variant first detected in South Africa and three cases of the P.1 variant first detected in Brazil.

As of 8:00 p.m. Monday, 727,021 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the province.

Ontario is considering delaying the second shot of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines even longer in a push to speed up the overall vaccination timeline.

In British Columbia, health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has said there is growing evidence that the interval between first and second doses of both the Pfizer and Moderna shots can be safely extended to four months while maintaining a strong and sustained level of protection from the virus.

Now that Canada has approved its third COVID-19 vaccine, with a potential fourth on the way, many Canadians are now weighing which vaccine is right for them. But experts are warning against vaccine shopping and asking residents to take whatever is offered.

A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians believe Ottawa will follow through on its plan to provide enough COVID-19 vaccine doses for everyone who wants a shot by the fall.

The poll also found that most residents are in no rush to lift anti-pandemic lockdowns, with two-thirds saying restrictions should remain at least until half the population is immunized.