Ontario’s 7-day average of COVID cases tops 1,000

Ontario is reporting 1,009 new COVID-19 cases and eight additional deaths on Wednesday.

The rolling seven-day average of new cases is now 1,007, up 186 cases from one week ago. The province reported 780 new cases last Wednesday.

It is the fourth time in the last six days the province has reported more than 1000 cases and it is the first time the weekly average has surpassed 1,000 infections since Jun. 1.

Ontarians who are not fully vaccinated represent 23.3 per cent of the province’s population and account for 44 per cent of the new cases — 64 cases are in individuals with an unknown vaccination status.

There were 38,502 tests completed in the last 24-hour period for a test positivity rate of 3.3 per cent — down from 3.8 per cent one day ago. Tuesday’s positivity rate was the highest the province has reported in more than six months.

As cases continue a steady climb, hospitalization and ICU numbers remain relatively flat. There are currently 333 people hospitalized with COVID-19 and 155 in the ICU, both numbers are down from a day ago.

Among those in the ICU, 131 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.

The Ontario Science Table’s new modelling suggests the province’s already-depleted ICU system “will have trouble responding” to a predicted surge of winter COVID-19 cases.

Even without taking into account the spread of the new Omicron variant, the Science Table projects ICU occupancy will likely grow to 250-400 beds in January, putting hospitals under strain to keep up.

Ontario’s COVID-19 science advisers are also set to release new recommendations about rapid testing. Dr. Peter Juni, the scientific director of Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, said the group plans to publish a science brief on the issue Wednesday.

There have been growing calls for the tests to be made more widely available as COVID-19 cases rise.