Person under 20 among 12 Ontario COVID deaths reported today
Posted November 17, 2021 10:15 am.
Last Updated November 18, 2021 11:35 am.
Ontario is reporting 512 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday as the rolling seven-day average continues to climb.
The province is also reporting 12 additional deaths due to the virus, the highest daily increase of deaths in nearly four weeks.
The Ministry of Health says one of the deaths reported is an individual under the age of 20.
No further details were provided but the province advised to “reach out to the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit for more information.”
The seven-day average now sits at 587 cases, reaching the highest point since Oct. 3.
Of the new cases, 310 cases are in individuals who are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status and 202 are in fully vaccinated individuals.
There are another 573 resolved cases, dropping the province’s active case count.
Another 28,931 tests were done in the last 24-hour period for a test positivity rate of 2.5 per cent. The test positivity has remained over two per cent for a week straight.
There are 274 people hospitalized with the virus and 133 in ICU beds. Among the hospitalized, 206 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.
Graphic courtesy of @jkwan_md
There were another 15,040 COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the last day — 88.8 per cent of eligible Ontarians have now received at least one dose and 85.7 per cent are fully vaccinated.
With cases climbing in many health units, Premier Doug Ford said on Tuesday that his government will continue to rely on local efforts to reinstate any pandemic restrictions.
The Sudbury and Algoma local health units in Northern Ontario have already reinstated some health measures, including business capacity limits.
Southwestern Public Health’s medical officer said Tuesday that the health unit was considering further pandemic measures, likely to be introduced next week, to alleviate pressure on the local health system.
A provincial government source confirmed to CityNews on Tuesday that symptomatic testing will be coming to pharmacies in the province that decide to opt-in to a new program.
Once the program launches, individuals who come down with COVID-19 symptoms, or have been in close contact with a confirmed case, will be able to get a PCR swab test at a participating pharmacy.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath released a statement asking the Ford government to pause the new symptomatic testing program, saying it will only cause “fear and anxiety” for vulnerable people.
Ford was asked on Tuesday about safety concerns for customers now that people with symptoms will be allowed inside certain locations. The premier said he is confident that the necessary safety precautions will be in place.
