Ontario reports over 1,000 new COVID-19 cases, highest in almost a week

The Government of Ontario confirmed 1,038 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday morning, which is the highest case count in almost a week.

The province is also reporting 1,227 newly resolved cases and 44 additional deaths.

This is higher than Wednesday’s 847, which was the lowest count since late October. It is also an increase from Tuesday’s 904, Monday’s 964, Sunday’s 981, but lower than Saturday’s 1,300, and Friday’s 1,072.

Of the newly announced cases, 376 are in Toronto, 142 are in Peel, and 122 are in York Region.

Health Minister Christine Elliott said nearly 56,200 tests were completed, and 501,867 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines have been administered.

Elliott added that the province can deliver 40,000 doses a day and if need be, could quadruple capacity with no notice.

Ontario is reporting 1,038 cases of #COVID19 and nearly 56,200 tests completed. Locally, there are 376 new cases in Toronto, 142 in Peel and 122 in York Region.

As of 8:00 p.m. yesterday, 501,867 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.

— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) February 18, 2021

There are now confirmed cases of the UK, South African, and Brazilian COVID-19 variants in the province.

Health officials have called the fast-spreading variant a “significant threat” and noted that it may impact Ontario’s lockdown measures.

There is no evidence to suggest that approved vaccines will be any less effective against the newfound variants.

On February 16, Stay at Home orders were lifted in 27 Ontario regions, which will revert back to an updated colour-coded system. However, Toronto, Peel, and York regions will not see the orders lifted until February 22.

Once the orders are lifted, regions will move back into the province’s colour-coded system, which will allow all retail to reopen with specific guidelines depending on the colour.

To date, Ontario has seen 289,261 COVID-19 cases and 6,773 virus-related deaths.