Ontario reports fewer than 500 new COVID-19 cases, another 14 deaths

Ontario reported 476 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday — a rise from 429 cases the day before.

Another 14 people have died as a result of the virus, bringing the death toll to 9,771. However, the province said four of the deaths occurred more than one month ago.

Health officials conducted 39,460 tests over the past 24 hours, with a positivity rate of 1.7 per cent.

Of the overall new cases, 335 are in individuals who are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status, while 141 are fully vaccinated.

In a tweet, Health Minister Christine Elliott said 280 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 (excluding ICU) and 156 are in the ICU.

Of the 280 hospitalized patients, 234 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status and 46 are fully vaccinated. And of the 156 patients in the ICU, 144 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status and 12 are fully vaccinated.

The province said 86.7 per cent of Ontarians aged 12 and over have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 81.7 per cent are fully vaccinated.

On Tuesday, the province said it would be rolling out a “targeted” rapid COVID-19 testing program for schools and child-care settings in areas of the province where “risk of transmission is high.”

According to the latest data, 173 new cases have been reported in schools (156 students, 16 staff and one unspecified). So far, 773 schools across the province have at least one active case of the virus, and eight schools have been closed.