Ontario reports considerable jump in COVID-19 cases, 5 additional deaths

Ontario is seeing a significant increase in COVID-19 cases on Thursday as officials report 438 new infections as well as five new deaths.

This number is up from 378 new cases on Wednesday. The seven-day rolling average is up slightly at 383, up from 349 on October 31st.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says 237 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and 177 are not vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status. Of them, 57 are fully immunized. There are 130 patients in ICU and 115 of them are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status. Fifteen ICU patients are fully vaccinated, Elliott says.

Of Thursday’s 438 new infections, the province says 279 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status and 159 cases are in fully vaccinated individuals. There are 337 resolved cases.

Toronto is reporting a small rise in cases with 72 confirmed infections. There are 37 new cases in York and 27 in Peel Regions, followed by 11 new cases in Halton and four in Durham Regions.

Toronto’s daily tally on Thursday is up from 42 on Tuesday and was as low as 39 on Oct. 26th. In the wake of the province’s announcement on third dose eligibility, the city’s chief medical officer says 40,000 appointments will become available to Torontonians this Saturday at 8 a.m.

Just over 88 per cent of eligible Ontarians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and just under 85 per cent have both doses and are fully vaccinated.

The province is also reporting 86 additional cases in schools including 72 in students. Fourteen are school-related staff cases.

Starting Saturday, the next priority group will be able to book appointments for booster shots for six months past their second dose.

The group includes people aged 70 and older, health-care workers, First Nation, Inuit and Metis adults, and non-Indigenous household members. Evidence suggests that immunity starts to wane after about six months, so those priority groups will be able to get their booster shots six months after their second dose.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore says Ontario is eyeing early 2022 to expand booster doses to everyone else, based on a six-to-eight month interval after people received their second doses.

Moore also elaborated on when parents can expect younger children to qualify for their first COVID-19 vaccine. The province’s top doctor says he expects to get federal guidance for the go-ahead with kid-sized vaccinations by the end of this month.

The province says there will be a kids vaccine clinic at, or near, at least one school in every health unit. There will also be mass immunization clinics and mobile clinics.

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With files from The Canadian Press