Ontario reports nearly 4,500 new COVID-19 infections

Ontario reported 4,447 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, marking the sixth day in a row that case counts have been above 4,000.

Sunday had 4,250, Saturday had 4,362, Friday had a record-breaking 4,812, Thursday had 4,736, Wednesday had 4,156, and Tuesday had 3,670.

Of the latest cases, 1,299 are in Toronto, 926 are in Peel, and 577 are in York Region.

Another 19 people died from the virus within the last day, bringing Ontario’s death toll to 7,735.

Health Minister Christine Elliott said the province has now administered approximately 3.9 million doses of vaccine.

As of 8:00 p.m. yesterday, 3,904,778 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.

Today’s numbers will be available at 10:30 a.m. at https://t.co/ypmgZcdsmV.

— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) April 19, 2021

Ontario is lowering the eligibility age for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to 40 on Tuesday, meaning a new cohort of people will be able to get the shot at a local pharmacy or family doctor’s office.

• See also:
  • Ontario lowers AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine eligibility age to 40
  • Ford asking “international allies” to send COVID-19 vaccines to Ontario
  • Federal government sending health care workers to Ontario: Trudeau

Doses at mass immunization clinics are still reserved for Ontarians 60 and over, but people living in hotspots can be eligible sooner. People as young as 50 in certain postal codes can book at the mass clinics, and younger individuals can get a shot when a pop-up clinic comes to their area.

University Health Network is also booking appointments for people with certain health conditions, faith leaders, and Indigenous adults.

Ontario has seen 421,442 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.