Ontario reports more than 4,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday

Ontario has reported its highest single-day total of new COVID-19 cases in almost eight months.

Provincial officials confirmed 4,177 new infections on Sunday, the highest since April 23 when Ontario was two weeks into its last stay-at-home order mandate.

The seven-day average of new cases has now climbed to 2,542 – more than double the average from a week ago.

Of the new cases, 1,200 are in individuals who are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccine status while 2,977 are in fully vaccinated people.

An additional two Ontarians have died as a result of the virus, bringing the provincial total up to 10,113.

Health officials say 283 people are in hospital as a result of COVID-19, however, hospitalization numbers are generally underreported on weekends. ICU admissions have climbed to 159 with the number of individuals now on respirators topping 100. A breakdown of the vaccination status between those hospitalized and in the ICU was not available on Sunday.

Toronto reported 1,039 new COVID cases – a figure it has not seen since the beginning of May. York Region recorded 365 new cases, its highest total since the end of April, while Ottawa added 334 new infections. Peel Region confirmed an additional 311 new cases on Sunday.

Provincial officials processed 51,151 tests in the last 24-hour period, for a positivity rate of 8.7 per cent.

The province administered 140,827 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Saturday including just over 19,000 first doses and 117,663 booster shots. Just over 16,000 first doses were administered to kids between the ages of 5 and 11.

Last week, Ontario’s Science Table indicated a total of “250,000 to 350,000” vaccine doses a day – along with other measures to reduce close contacts – would be needed to blunt the spread of Omicron across the province.

The rising case count comes as new restrictions take effect which include lower capacity limits at most indoor settings and reduced social gathering limits.

Quebec and Nova Scotia also reported new daily records Sunday as they scramble to contain skyrocketing case counts with lockdowns and other restrictions only a week before Christmas.

While hospitalizations have remained steady in some parts of the country, Quebec has seen an increase in severe cases and experts worry the rest of the country could soon follow.

Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report