Ontario reports fewer than 400 new COVID-19 cases as 7-day average hits two-month low
Posted October 23, 2021 9:56 am.
Last Updated October 23, 2021 5:10 pm.
Ontario reported fewer than 400 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday as the seven-day average of new infections fell to its lowest level in more than two-months.
Provincial health officials confirmed 373 new infections – the fourth time in the last seven days the case count has been below 400.
Of those new cases, 264 are in individuals who are unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status. There are 109 new cases among those who are fully vaccinated.
The seven-day average of new infections is now down to 389, the lowest its been seen since August 11.
Peel Region reported 45 new cases on Saturday while Toronto added just 41 new infections – it’s lowest single-day total since the beginning of August. York Region reported 26 new cases.
More than a week after Thanksgiving Day and the loosening of capacity limits in certain indoor settings, the average number of new COVID-19 cases continues to drop while the daily number of new infections has remained steady at between 300 to 500.
An additional 6 people have died as a result of the virus, bringing the provincial total to 9,845.
The province says 27,243 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were administered on Friday with just over 9,000 receiving their first shot – an increase over the previous day. Almost 84 per cent of eligible Ontarians 12-years and older are now considered fully vaccinated.
There are 269 people hospitalized with COVID-19 and of those, 233 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status. Of those in hospital, 136 people are in the ICU – 120 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccinated status.
A total of 27,302 tests were processed in the previous 24 hour period for a positivity rate of 1.5 per cent.
On Friday, the province announced that starting on Monday, capacity limits in the “vast majority” or settings where proof of vaccination are required will be lifted, including restaurants and bars, indoor sports and recreation facilities, gyms, casinos, bingo halls and gaming establishments. It said it will keep a close eye on key public health indicators and emerging COVID variants and barring any major setbacks, it intends to lift all public health and workplace safety measures by March 28, 2022.
