Ontario reports 1,631 new COVID cases Monday

Public Health Ontario has reported 1,631 new cases of COVID-19 today (March 8).

Today's report includes 994 recoveries and 10 new deaths, none were long-term care residents.

The deaths reported today include five people between 60 and 79 years old, and five people aged 80 or older.

The province has reported 51 new hospitalizations since yesterday, and seven new admissions of COVID-19 patients to intensive care units.

The March 8 update provided by the province's public health agency also reported the following data:

• 11,016 active cases, which is up from 10,389 yesterday
• 626 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in Ontario, up from 606 reported yesterday. 
• There are 282 COVID patients in intensive care units (up from 273) and 184 COVID patients on ventilators (up from 179 reported yesterday)
• 38,063 tests were processed yesterday resulting in a 3.4 per cent positivity rate.
• Another 13,891 tests are still under investigation and/or being processed. To date, 11.4 million tests have been completed.
• Of the 1,631 new cases reported today, 568 are from Toronto, 322 cases are from Peel, 119 are from York Region, and 48 are from Simcoe-Muskoka
• There are 79 active outbreaks at long-term care homes, 59 at retirement homes, and 20 at hospitals. 
• The new cases reported today include 321 individuals aged 19 and under, 596 people between 20 and 39 years old, 447 people between 40 and 59 years old, 224 people between 60 and 79 years old, and 47 people aged 80 and over.

Variants of concern reported by Public Health Ontario

• 879  lab-confirmed cases of the UK variant strain of COVID-19 (B.1.1.7). 
• 39 cases of B.1.351 (also known as the South African variant).
• 17 cases of P.1, which is the variant strain that originated in Brazil. 
• According to Public Health Ontario, there are delays between specimen collection and the testing required to confirm a variant of concern. As such, the reports can change and can differ from past case counts publicly reported.

Vaccines

• There were 21,882 doses of vaccines against COVID-19 administered on March 7, which is down from 30,192 administered on Mar. 6. 
• As of 8 p.m. on March 7, the province reported 912,486 doses of vaccine against COVID-19 have been administered.
• In total, 273,676 people have been fully vaccinated.

Public Health Ontario has confirmed 309,927 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, and reported 290,840 recoveries and 7,077 deaths, of which 3,876 were individuals living in long-term care homes.

The cumulative average incidence rate in the province is 2,085 cases per 100,000 people in Ontario.

The weekly incidence rate in Ontario is 50.7 cases per 100,000 people, which is a decrease of 1.6 per cent from last week (Feb. 20-26). 

In Northern Ontario, the breakdown of Public Health Ontario data is:

• Algoma Public Health: 200 cases, rate of 174.8 per 100,000 people. There are five known active cases. The region is in the yellow - protect zone.
• North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit: 266 cases, rate of 205 per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 269 cases. There are six known active cases. There are two confirmed cases of the United Kingdom (B.1.1.7) variant, and 16 confirmed cases of the South African (B.1.351) variant of concern. The region is in the red - control zone.
• Porcupine Health Unit: 342 cases, rate of 409.9 per 100,000 people. There are seven known active cases. The region is in the orange - restrict zone.
• Public Health Sudbury and Districts: 791 cases, rate of 397.4per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 784 cases. There are 181 known active cases. There are three confirmed variants of concern (VOC) cases, both are the UK (B.1.1.7) strain. The region is in the red zone.
• Timiskaming Health Unit: 104 cases, rate of 318.1 per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 106 cases. There are 12 known active cases. There is one confirmed case of the South African (B.1.351) variant of concern. The region is in the orange - restrict zone.
• Northwestern Health Unit: 514 cases, rate of 586.3 per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 500 confirmed cases. There are 44 known active cases. There is one confirmed case of the UK (B.1.1.7) variant. The region is in the yellow - protect zone.
• Thunder Bay District Health Unit: 2,002 cases, rate of 1,335 per 100,000 people.  The health unit has reported 1,994 cases, There are 470 known active cases. The region is in the grey - lockdown level.