Ontario reports 1,453 new COVID cases as province set to impose stronger proof-of-vaccination measures
CBC
Ontario reported 1,453 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, the most in more than six months, ahead of an expected announcement that the province will introduce stronger proof-of-vaccination measures to combat a surge in infections.
The government is dropping its tentative plan to end the provincial vaccine passport program in mid-January and will require all proof-of-vaccination certificates to include QR codes, a senior government source told CBC News.
Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, is scheduled to formally announce the changes at a 2 p.m. ET news conference in Toronto. He is slated to be joined by Minister of Health Christine Elliott, according to her office.
You'll be able to watch it live in this story.
Today's case count marks a 41 per cent increase over last Friday and is the most new infections logged on a single day since May 23, as the third wave of the pandemic was slowly waning.
The seven-day average of daily cases has risen to 1,115, and is currently on pace to double roughly every three weeks.
Public Health Ontario today reported a 4.4 per cent positivity rate on 39,941 tests, by far the highest level of the fourth wave and also the highest one-day rate since May 26.
Still, the burden of COVID-19 on intensive care units has stayed relatively stable. As of Thursday, there were 151 COVID patients in critical care, down from 155 the day before and 17 fewer than the fourth-wave peak of 168 reached earlier this week.
The province reported another pandemic high for school-related outbreaks, with 286, including 257 in elementary schools.
The senior government source told CBC News there are no plans to shut down the province's schools before the winter holidays one week from tomorrow.
During the third wave of the pandemic in the spring, school-linked outbreaks peaked at 264 on April 14, two days after the province announced it would close schools in a bid to contain transmission of the virus.
In recent weeks, schools have been the setting for the bulk of COVID-19 outbreaks in Ontario. In this context, an outbreak is defined as two or more lab-confirmed cases in students, staff or visitors where at least one of the infections has an epidemiological link, meaning the case was transmitted within the school, not in the wider community.
As of Thursday, about 26.4 per cent of five to 11 year olds in the province had a first dose of vaccine.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health also reported the deaths of 11 more people with the illness on Friday, bringing the official toll to 10,065.
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