Ontario reports nearly 1,300 COVID-19 cases, highest test positivity in 3 weeks

Ontario is reporting 1,268 new COVID-19 cases and 9 deaths on Monday.

Locally, there are 366 new cases in Toronto, 220 in Peel and 147 in York Region.

There were nearly 34,000 tests completed in the last 24 hour period, down from the previous five days but similar to testing numbers the same time last week. Testing numbers are typically down early in the week.

The province’s test positivity rate was 3.8 per cent, that is the highest number since Feb. 23 when Ontario posted a positivity rate of 4.2 per cent.

The latest provincial numbers confirm 70 additional cases of the B.1.1.7 variant first detected in the UK.

There are now 1,106 cumulative cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, 44 cases of the B 1.351 variant first detected in South Africa and 34 cases of the P.1 variant first detected in Brazil.

The province is reporting 8,630 cases where a mutation has been detected but the exact lineage cannot be determined.

The province reported 1,747 cases and 15 deaths on Sunday. Officials cautioned the case count was higher than expected “due to a data catch-up process” in the system.

There were 33,198 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered in the last 24 hour period.

As of 8:00 p.m. Sunday, 1,191,553 total doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the province and 285,615 people have been fully vaccinated.

Ontario launched its much awaited online vaccine booking portal and call centre on Monday with a warning to anyone outside of the priority group thinking of jumping the queue.

Individuals 80 years and older (born in 1941 or earlier) plus those in the Phase 1 priority group who are eligible to receive the vaccine at this time can visit ontario.ca/bookvaccine to make an appointment or by calling 1-888-999-6488.

Canada is expecting a smaller than usual shipment of COVID-19 vaccines this week, with fewer than 445,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech shots scheduled for delivery over the next seven days.

But this will be the last week in which Canada receives less than one-million COVID-19 vaccine doses over a seven-day period. Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau guaranteed delivery of at least 1 million Pfizer doses per week starting later this month and lasting into early May.

Dr. Theresa Tam recently expressed concern over an increase in cases linked to more contagious virus variants, as well as a higher infection rate in Canadians age 20 to 39, who she described in a statement as more mobile and socially connected.

“Circulation of COVID-19 in younger, more mobile and socially connected adults can increase the risk of spread into high-risk populations and settings,” she wrote.

Despite the rise in cases, Tam said more severe outcomes like hospitalizations and deaths have continued to trend in the right direction.

The Canadian Mental Health Association is urging Ontario to prioritize the sector in its upcoming budget as a new poll suggests the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has eroded residents’ already fragile emotional well-being.

The plea comes after the third round of polling from the association’s Ontario branch, which sheds light on how those in the province have coped as the pandemic wears on.