Ontario sees fewer than 200 new COVID-19 cases for a week straight

Ontario is reporting 143 new COVID-19 cases and 10 deaths on Thursday.

It is the seventh straight day the province has reported fewer than 200 new infections.

The test positivity rate is 0.5 per cent, down from 0.8 per cent one week ago.

It is the lowest positivity rate the province has reported since Aug. 23.

There were over 31,329 tests completed in the last 24-hour period.

Locally, there are 25 new cases in the Region of Waterloo, 25 in Grey Bruce and 20 in Toronto.

There were another 168 resolved cases, dropping the active case count. Monday was the only day in the last two weeks where new infections have outnumbered resolved cases.

The rolling seven-day average has dropped to 155, reaching the lowest point since Sept. 7.

The province reported 153 cases and seven deaths on Wednesday.

There are now 168 people in the ICU with COVID-19 complications and 114 ICU patients on a ventilator. ICU numbers have now dropped to the lowest point since Nov. 29.

There were 166,201 COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the last 24-hour period.

As of 8 p.m. Wednesday, 17,641,856 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered across the province – 79 per cent of Ontario residents 12 and older have received at least one dose while 57.5 per cent are now fully vaccinated.

The City of Toronto announced Thursday that more than four million vaccine doses have been administered in the city, with 60 per cent of Toronto adults now fully vaccinated.

Ontario will enter Step 3 of the province’s economic reopening plan on Friday which will see indoor dining resume and allow for gyms and movie theatres to reopen.

There will be no capacity or table limits for indoor dining – but social distancing rules will remain in place and masks will remain mandatory.

Outdoor social gatherings and organized public events with up to 100 people will be allowed as well as indoor social gatherings and organized public events with up to 25 people.

Gyms, movie theatres, museums and zoos will all be allowed to operate at a 50 per cent capacity.

The City of Toronto says it will begin to gradually lift restrictions and reopen several recreational amenities starting next week.

As of Monday, indoor fitness and walking facilities in the city will reopen.