Ontario reports record positivity rate, more than 3,500 new COVID-19 cases

Ontario is reporting 3,510 new COVID-19 cases and 24 additional deaths on Monday.

The province reports a record test positivity rate of 10.9 per cent, surpassing the mark of 10.5 from Monday last week.

There were 33,822 tests completed in the last 24 hour period, compared to nearly 47,000 a day ago. Testing numbers are typically down earlier in the week.

Locally, there are 1,015 new cases in Toronto, 909 in Peel, 391 in York Region, 244 in Durham and 206 in Ottawa.

For the fifth consecutive day the province is reporting more resolved cases than new cases.

Ontario reported 3,947 cases and 24 deaths on Sunday.

There are now 2,271 people hospitalized in the province due to COVID-19 with 877 in the ICU. It marks another pandemic record for ICU patients.

According to the latest provincial numbers, there are 2,038 additional cases of the B.1.1.7 variant.

There are now more than 54,000 cumulative cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, 351 cases of the P.1 variant, and 162 cases of the B.1.351 variant.

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There were 69,308 vaccine doses administered in the last 24 hour period.

As of 8:00 p.m. Sunday, 4,696,211 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.

The federal government says it expects Canada to receive around 1.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine this week, including its very first shipment of shots from Johnson & Johnson.

But Canada is not currently expecting any more deliveries of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

The demand for the AstraZeneca shot continues to exceed the supply since age limits were lowered last week. Ontario pharmacies anticipate the province’s current stock will run out sometime this week with a potential supply interruption on the horizon.

680 NEWS has learned that a pilot project is in the works that would make the Pfizer shot available at pharmacies, potentially as early as this week.

Justin Bates, CEO of the Ontario Pharmacist Association, says pharmacies are working with the Ford government on the project that would get the Pfizer vaccine to select hotspot locations.

Healthcare workers gathered at Queen’s Park in a ‘pop-up protest’ on Sunday and say they don’t plan to back down until paid sick leave is a reality in the province.

Premier Doug Ford confirmed the province would implement a program last week, but provided little in the way of specific details, it remains to be seen when the new program will be unveiled.

Health officials continue to argue that many of the patients ending up in hospital in Ontario are essential workers or family members of essential workers.