Ontario reports fewest new COVID-19 cases since September

Ontario is reporting 270 new COVID-19 cases and a three additional deaths on Monday.

It is the smallest daily increase of new infections the province has seen since before the second wave of the pandemic on Sep. 13.

The province is reporting a test positivity rate of 2.5 per cent, down slightly from 2.6 per cent one week ago.

There were 13,828 tests completed in the last 24-hour period.

Locally, there are 47 new cases in Toronto, 44 in the Region of Waterloo, 42 in Peel, 22 in York Region, 12 in Ottawa and 12 in Niagara.

There were another 486 resolved cases, dropping the active case count once again. Resolved cases have outnumbered new infections each day since mid-April.

The province reported 318 new cases and 12 deaths on Sunday.

The rolling seven-day average has dropped to 334, reaching the lowest point since Sep. 19.

There are now 261 people hospitalized in the province outside of intensive care with another 323 in the ICU. Hospitalizations have reached the lowest point since Oct. 19.

There were 118,625 vaccine doses administered in the last 24-hour period.

As of 8:00 p.m. Thursday, 12,669,775 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered

At least 75 per cent of Ontarians have received at least one shot and more than 22 per cent are now fully vaccinated.

Both those numbers have exceeded the threshold set by the province to move into Step 2 of its Roadmap to Reopen, however, there’s no word yet from provincial officials if they plan to move up to timetable ahead of July 2.

More Ontarians become eligible for an earlier second dose of COVID-19 vaccine this week.

Any Ontarians who received their first dose of an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer of Moderna) on or before May 9 can now book their second shots through the province’s booking system.

The province is also accelerating second shot appointments on Wednesday, June 23, for anyone 18 and older that received a first dose of an mRNA vaccine on or before May 30 living in 10 Delta variant hotspot regions.

Toronto officials say they were informed over the weekend that 162,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine would be delayed this week. In order to continue with appointments already booked at city-run clinics over the next few weeks, Toronto Public Health says it will increase the administration of Moderna vaccines.

Peel Public Health also says the Moderna vaccine will be administered in its clinics until at least June 24. In the meantime, both regions will use their remaining Pfizer supply for residents aged 12 to 17.

Public health officials continue to stress that both Pfizer and Moderna are interchangeable and there is “no important difference” between the two.