Ontario reports small increase in COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, 5 new deaths

Ontario is reporting 378 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday and five new deaths as the seven-day rolling average maintains its ground.

Of today’s new infections, 236 involved unvaccinated individuals and those with unknown vaccination status, while 142 new cases are in those with two shots. Ontario’s positivity rate is at 1.4 per cent.

There are 237 people in the hospital – 174 of which are unvaccinated. The province says 137 patients are currently in the ICU (125 are without vaccine protection), and 79 are on a ventilator.

The seven-day rolling average of new cases stands at 379, compared to 362 on Monday and 364 a week ago.

Of Wednesday’s cases, 61 are being reported in Toronto. There are 41 in York Region, 13 in Peel Region, nine new cases in Durham, and six in Halton. There are 23 new COVID-19 cases in Hamilton, 21 cases in Windsor-Essex, and 20 in Ottawa.

Just under 17,000 doses were administered province-wide in the last 24 hours.

NOV 3: #COVID19 in #Ontario
378 cases, 5* deaths, 380 resolved,
32950 tests/day, 13643 pending, 1.4% pos
137 in ICU (79 on ventilator)????

+16,933 vaccinations????
88.3% of age 12+ ≥1 dose????
(84.7% = 2 doses)
See thread for more graphs????⤵️#onhealth #COVID19ontario pic.twitter.com/TlCYFz0O5x

— Dr. Jennifer Kwan (@jkwan_md) November 3, 2021

The province says just over 88 per of Ontario residents aged 12 and older have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and just under 85 per cent have received both shots.

Ontario reported 331 new COVID-19 cases and seven deaths from the virus on Tuesday.

The province is reporting 89 new COVID-19 cases in its many schools, and 78 of them are school-related student infections. There have been 943 cases reported in Ontario schools in the last 14 days resulting in four closures. Just under 500 schools are reporting at least one case of the virus.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore will speak at 1 p.m. to discuss the province’s plan with COVID-19 booster shots.

The National Committee Advisory on Immunization (NACI) recommended the booster shots to groups of people “at increased risk of severe illness and highest risk of waning protection.”

Third doses are recommended within at least six months of a second dose, which means the third-dose window for people with two shots for AstraZeneca would open in late November.