Ontario reports 1,374 new COVID cases Friday

Public Health Ontario has reported 1,374 new cases of COVID-19 today (March 12).

Today's report includes 18 new deaths, including one person between 40 and 59 years old, eight people between 60 and 79 years old, and nine people aged 80 or older.

The province has reported 65 new hospitalizations since yesterday, and 10 new admissions of COVID-19 patients to intensive care units.

The March 12 update provided by the province's public health agency also reported the following data:

• 1,124 recoveries
• 11,512 active cases, which is up from 11,283 yesterday
• 676 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in Ontario, down from 680 reported yesterday. 
• There are 282 COVID patients in intensive care units (up from 277 yesterday) and 189 COVID patients on ventilators (up from 184 yesterday)
• The province reported 64,611 tests were processed yesterday resulting in a 2.4 per cent positivity rate.
• Another 36,744 tests are still under investigation and/or being processed. To date, 11.6 million tests have been completed.
• Of the 1,374 new cases reported today, 371 are from Toronto, 225 cases are from Peel, 111 are from York Region, and 43 are from Simcoe-Muskoka
• There are 78 active outbreaks at long-term care homes, 51 at retirement homes, and 20 at hospitals. 
• The new cases reported today include 283 individuals aged 19 and under, 504 people between 20 and 39 years old, 359 people between 40 and 59 years old, 183 people between 60 and 79 years old, and 41 people aged 80 and over.

Variants of concern (Ontario-wide)

• 1,005 lab-confirmed cases of the UK variant strain of COVID-19 (B.1.1.7). 
• 42 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 6,859 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 43,503 doses of vaccines against COVID-19 administered on March 11, which is up from 40,610 administered on Mar. 10. 
• As of 8 p.m. on March 11, the province reported 1,062,910 doses of vaccine against COVID-19 have been administered.
• In total, 282,748 people have been fully vaccinated.

Public Health Ontario has confirmed 314,891 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, and reported 296,252 recoveries and 7,127 deaths, of which 3,877 were individuals living in long-term care homes.

The cumulative average incidence rate in the province is 2,118.4 cases per 100,000 people in Ontario.

The weekly incidence rate in Ontario is 56.3 cases per 100,000 people, which is an increase of 9.1 per cent from last week (Feb. 24 - Mar. 2). 

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

• Algoma Public Health: 201 cases, rate of 175.6 per 100,000 people. There are seven known active cases, including two 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: 268 cases, rate of 206.5 per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 270 cases. There are three known active cases. There are two confirmed cases of the United Kingdom (B.1.1.7) variant, and 20 confirmed cases of the South African (B.1.351) variant of concern. The region is in the red - control zone.
• Porcupine Health Unit: 344 cases, rate of 412.3 per 100,000 people. There are three known active cases. There are two confirmed cases of the South African (B.1.351) variant of concern. The region is in the orange - restrict zone.
• Public Health Sudbury and Districts: 876 cases, rate of 440.2 per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 896. There are 263 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 grey - lockdown zone.
• Timiskaming Health Unit: 105 cases, rate of 321.2 per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 106 cases. There are eight 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: 548 cases, rate of 625 per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 560 cases. There are 68 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: 2,208 cases, rate of 1,472.4 per 100,000 people.  The health unit has reported 2,256 cases, There are 435 known active cases. The region is in the grey - lockdown level.