Ontario reports highest daily COVID cases in more than 6 months
Posted December 9, 2021 10:06 am.
Last Updated December 9, 2021 1:18 pm.
Ontario is reporting 1,290 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday — the most new daily infections the province has seen in more than six months.
The rolling seven-day average of new cases is now 1,054, up more than 200 cases from one week ago. The province reported 959 new cases last Thursday.
Thursday case count is the highest since May 24 and is the fifth time in the last seven days that Ontario has seen more than 1,000 infections.
The province is also reporting 10 additional deaths due to the virus.
Ontarians who are not fully vaccinated represent just over 23 per cent of the province’s population and account for nearly 46 per cent of the new cases — 83 cases are in individuals with an unknown vaccination status.
Hospitalization and ICU numbers continue to be steady during the surge in cases. There are currently 309 people hospitalized with COVID-19 and 155 in the ICU — among those in the ICU, 131 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.
The last time the province reported more than 1,200 cases in late May, hospitalizations were hovering around 1,000 and ICU patients in the range of 600.
There were 40,242 tests completed in the last 24-hour period for a test positivity rate of 3.5 per cent — up slightly from 3.3 per cent one day ago. Tuesday’s positivity rate of 3.8 per cent was the highest the province has reported in more than six months.
Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table has released its recommendations for rapid antigen tests specifically in elementary schools, amid calls for the Ford government to expand access to the tests across the province.
The recommendations focus on “voluntary screen testing” — which tests asymptomatic individuals at regular intervals in moderate-risk settings such as schools and places of employment.
On Wednesday, Premier Doug Ford defended the province’s approach to COVID-19 testing. When asked why rapid tests aren’t free for all Ontarians, Ford pointed to the 33 million rapid tests already distributed by his government and referenced other testing initiatives like the free five tests for students.
Some Ontario workplaces offer rapid tests for their employees, and children in publicly funded schools are being sent home for the December break with a kit of five rapid tests each.
With files from the Canadian Press
