Ontario reports 3,000-plus new COVID-19 cases, 47 additional deaths

Ontario’s daily COVID-19 case count climbed above 3,000 again as the number of new deaths nearly doubled over the previous day.

Provincial health officials report 3,216 new infections on Sunday, up from the 2,864 cases confirmed the previous day. It’s the fourth time in the last seven days that the number of new cases has surpassed 3,000.

Another 47 people have died as a result of coronavirus, a sharp increase from the 25 deaths reported Saturday – the highest daily total since February 19. It’s the second time in the last five days there have been more than 40 deaths, raising the provincial total to 8,308.

Locally, there were 903 new cases reported in Toronto, 752 in Peel Region, and 335 in York Region.

Provincial officials are reporting a positivity rate of 7.1 per cent after completing just 38,540 tests in the last 24 hour period.

The number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 continues to decline, with 1,640 patients reported on Sunday. However, not all hospitals report their numbers on the weekend. There are 848 coronavirus patients in ICU with 580 of them currently on ventilators.

The province says it administered 121,075 vaccine doses on Saturday – a second straight decrease in the number of doses after a record number were administered on Friday. More than 6.1 million first doses have now been given across the province.

Canada’s chief public health officer is reminding Canadians that even if you are fully vaccinated, you remain susceptible to COVID-19.

Dr. Theresa Tam says while the risk of asymptomatic infection and transmission is far lower for anyone who receives two shots of the vaccine, “it’s not absolute.”