Ontario reports 3,124 new COVID cases Friday

Public Health Ontario is reporting 3,124 new COVID cases today.

The latest updates also include 1,392 recoveries and five deaths.

The Dec. 17 updates provided by the province's public health agency and the ministry of health also reported the following data:

• There are 15,792 active cases, up from 14,065 yesterday.
• 358 people are in hospital testing positive for COVID-19, up from 328 yesterday.
• Today's update notes 778 of the new cases were unvaccinated individuals, 96 were partially vaccinated, and 2,120 were fully vaccinated. 
• The seven-day average incidence rate by vaccination status is 20.1 cases per 100,000 unvaccinated people, 10.2 cases per 100,000 partially vaccinated people, and 10 cases per 100,000 fully vaccinated people.
• The hospitalized cases (not in the ICU) include 116 unvaccinated people, nine partially vaccinated, and 85 fully vaccinated. 
• 157 people are in ICU due to COVID-19. Of those, 139 people are testing positive and 18 are testing negative. There are 98 people in an intensive care unit (ICU) due to COVID on a ventilator.
• ICU cases include 76 unvaccinated people, five partially vaccinated, and 33 fully vaccinated people.
• 11.3 million people in Ontario (77 per cent of the population) are fully vaccinated, and five per cent of the province has one dose of COVID vaccine.
• 1.5 million people have received a booster (third dose) since August 2021.
• The province reported 51,636 tests were processed yesterday, resulting in an 8.2 per cent positivity rate.
• Today's new cases include 87 newborns to four-year-olds, 382 kids ages five to 11, 309 youth between 12 and 19 years old, 1,317 people between 20 and 39 years old, 788 people between 40 and 59 years old, 215 people between 60 and 79 years old, and 28 people over 80 years old.

Public Health Ontario has confirmed 642,465 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, and reported 616,566 recoveries and 10,107 deaths.

The cumulative average incidence rate in the province is 4,360.4 cases per 100,000 people in Ontario.

Ontario's average seven-day incidence rate from Dec. 7 to Dec. 13 was 68.5 cases per 100,000 people, which is up by 40.1 per cent compared to the seven-day period starting on Dec. 1.

For more on the province's breakdown of vaccination status, click here.

Northern Ontario 

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

• Algoma Public Health: 1,569 cases, weekly rate of 146 cases per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 1,571 cases. There are 263 known active cases. Of the eligible population five years and older, 85 per cent of people have at least one dose of the vaccine and 80 per cent have both doses.
• North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit: 994 cases, weekly rate of 28.6 cases per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 995 cases. There are 47 known active cases. Of the eligible population five years and older, 84 per cent of people have at least one dose of the vaccine and 79 per cent have both doses.
• Porcupine Health Unit: 2,328 cases, weekly rate of 42.4 cases per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 2,326 cases. There are 43 known active cases. Of the eligible population five years and older, 84 per cent of people have at least one dose of the vaccine and 78 per cent have both doses.
• Public Health Sudbury and Districts: 4,412 cases, weekly rate of 110.1 cases per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 4,477 cases. There are 290 known active cases. Of the eligible population five years and older, 85 per cent of people have at least one dose of the vaccine and 80 per cent have both doses.
• Timiskaming Health Unit: 470 cases, weekly rate of 135.8 cases per 100,000 people.  The health unit has reported 477. There are 58 known active cases. Of the eligible population five years and older, 83 per cent of people have at least one dose of the vaccine and 77 per cent have both doses.
• Northwestern Health Unit: 1,331 cases, weekly rate of 40.6 cases per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 1,316 cases. There are 61 known active cases. Of the eligible population five years and older, 92 per cent of people have at least one dose of the vaccine and 84 per cent have both doses.
• Thunder Bay District Health Unit: 3,797 cases, weekly rate of 41.2 cases per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 3,805 cases. There are 57 known active cases. Of the eligible population five years and older, 86 per cent of people have at least one dose of the vaccine and 80 per cent have both doses.

The data from Northern Ontario health units is based on what was available at 10:30 a.m. today.