Ontario reports 1,074 new COVID cases Tuesday

Public Health Ontario has reported 1,074 new cases of COVID-19 today (March 16).

Today's report includes 1,085 recoveries and 11 new deaths, including one person between 20 and 39 years old, one person between 40 and 59 years old, five people between 60 and 79 years old, and four people aged 80 or older. One of the deaths reported today was a resident of a long-term care home. 

The province has reported 30 new hospitalizations since yesterday, and three new admissions of COVID-19 patients to intensive care units.

The March 16 update provided by the province's public health agency also reported the following data:

• 12,506 active cases, which is down from 12,528 yesterday
• 761 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in Ontario, up from 699 reported yesterday. 
• There are 292 COVID patients in intensive care units (down from 298 yesterday) and 194 COVID patients on ventilators (up from 187 yesterday)
• The province reported 28,526 tests were processed yesterday resulting in a 4.5 per cent positivity rate.
• Another 27,448 tests are still under investigation and/or being processed. To date, 11.8 million tests have been completed.
• Of the 1,074 new cases reported today, 313 are from Toronto, 199 cases are from Peel, 101 are from York Region, and 15 are from Simcoe-Muskoka
• There are 71 active outbreaks at long-term care homes, 50 at retirement homes, and 28 at hospitals. 
• The new cases reported today include 214 individuals aged 19 and under, 417 people between 20 and 39 years old, 297 people between 40 and 59 years old, 118 people between 60 and 79 years old, and 26 people aged 80 and over.

Variants of concern (Ontario-wide)

• 1,131 lab-confirmed cases of the UK variant strain of COVID-19 (B.1.1.7). 
• 46 cases of B.1.351 (also known as the South African variant).
• 34 cases of P.1, which is the variant strain that originated in Brazil. 
• Another 9,131 cases have screened positive with a mutation detected, but the lineage for the variant strain not yet detected.
• 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 51,579 doses of vaccines against COVID-19 administered on March 15, which is up from 33,198 administered on Mar. 14. 
• As of 8 p.m. on March 14, the province reported 1,243,132 doses of vaccine against COVID-19 have been administered.
• In total, 288,918 people have been fully vaccinated.

Public Health Ontario has confirmed 320,448 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, and reported 300,769 recoveries and 7,173 deaths, of which 3,882 were individuals living in long-term care homes.

The cumulative average incidence rate in the province is 2,155.8 cases per 100,000 people in Ontario.

The weekly incidence rate in Ontario is 62.2 cases per 100,000 people, which is an increase of 16.9 per cent from last week (Feb. 28 - Mar. 6). 

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

• Algoma Public Health: 208 cases, rate of 181.8 per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 213 cases. There are 18 known active cases, including three people not from Algoma who are temporarily in the region. The region is in the yellow - protect zone.
• North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit: 271 cases, rate of 208.9 per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 273 cases. There are four known active cases. There have been two confirmed cases of the United Kingdom (B.1.1.7) variant, and 21 confirmed cases of the South African (B.1.351) variant of concern. There are 13 tests where variants have been detected but the strain is not known yet. The region is in the red - control zone.
• Porcupine Health Unit: 344 cases, rate of 412.3 per 100,000 people. There is one known active case. There have been two confirmed cases of the South African (B.1.351) variant of concern. There is one test where a variant has been detected but the strain is not known yet. The region is in the orange - restrict zone.
• Public Health Sudbury and Districts: 1,013 cases, rate of 509 per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 1,016. There are 243 known active cases. There are three confirmed variants of concern (VOC) cases, both are the UK (B.1.1.7) strain. There are 197 tests where variants have been detected but the strain is not known yet. The region is in the grey - lockdown zone.
• Timiskaming Health Unit: 106 cases, rate of 324.3 per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 107 cases. There are eight known active cases. There has been one confirmed case of the South African (B.1.351) variant of concern. The region is in the orange - restrict zone.
• Northwestern Health Unit: 579 cases, rate of 660.4 per 100,000 people. There are 75 known active cases. There has been one confirmed case of the UK (B.1.1.7) variant. There are three tests where variants have been detected but the strain is not known yet. The region is in the red - control zone. 
• Thunder Bay District Health Unit: 2,404 cases, rate of 1,603.1 per 100,000 people.  The health unit has reported 2,390 cases. There are 446 known active cases. There is one test where a variant has been detected but the strain is not known yet. The region is in the grey - lockdown level.