Ontario reports lowest COVID-19 positivity rate in over 3 months, fewest cases since September
Posted June 9, 2021 10:07 am.
Last Updated June 9, 2021 4:39 pm.
Ontario is reporting 411 new COVID-19 cases and 33 additional deaths on Wednesday.
It is the smallest daily increase in new infections since Sept. 25.
The province says that 11 of the deaths being reported actually occurred in April or May.
The province is reporting a test positivity rate of 2 per cent, down from 2.8 per cent one week ago. It is the lowest positivity rate since Feb. 25.
There were 30,456 tests completed in the last 24-hour period.
Locally, there are 97 new cases in Toronto, 72 in Peel, 35 in Waterloo, 26 in York Region and 25 in Hamilton. It is the first time since September that Toronto has seen fewer than 100 cases.
There were another 932 resolved cases, dropping the active case count. Resolved cases have outnumbered new infections each day since mid-April.
The rolling seven-day average has dropped to 657, reaching the lowest point since early October.
There are now 571 people hospitalized in the province with 466 in the ICU. Hospitalizations and ICU numbers are down nearly 100 since one week ago.
Graphics courtesy of @jkwan_md
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There were another 177,506 vaccine doses administered in the last 24-hour period. It is just the third time the province has administered more than 170,000 doses in a single day.
As of 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, 10,445,119 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered and 70.9 per cent of Ontarians over the age of 12 have received at least one dose, while 9.9 per cent of residents are now fully vaccinated.
More Ontarians are eligible to book their second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine through the provincial system this week.
Those aged 70 and older, as well as people who received their first dose of an mRNA vaccine on or before April 18, can now book their second shot at mass immunization clinics on the province’s online booking portal or through its phone line.
AstraZeneca recipients who received the shot more than 12 weeks ago can also book an mRNA second dose through the provincial system.
Graphics courtesy of @jkwan_md
Ontario has announced that it will lift some pandemic restrictions and enter Step 1 of its economic reopening plan on Friday; a few days ahead of schedule.
The move will allow for patio dining at a maximum of four patrons per table and limited non-essential retail shopping to resume at 15 per cent capacity ahead of the upcoming weekend.
The reopening of non-essential retail is street entrance only and stores located inside of malls without a street entrance will reopen to the public in Step 2, now slated for July 2. Personal care services are also set to reopen as part of Step 2.
Long-term care residents in Ontario can finally resume some close contact with loved ones and start leaving homes for social outings or day trips.
The province announced last week it was easing COVID-19 restrictions at homes across the province to allow for increased social connections for residents.
Residents who have been fully immunized can leave their long-term care homes for day and overnight trips.
Regardless of resident and visitor vaccination status, brief hugs can now take place. Where both the resident and visitors are fully immunized, close physical contact, including handholding, can now take place safely.
