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Ontario reports 1,038 new COVID cases Thursday

The province also confirmed 1,277 recoveries, 44 deaths and 72 new hospitalizations in today's update
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Public Health Ontario has reported 1,038 new cases of COVID-19 today (Feb. 17).

Today's report includes 44 new deaths, 13 were residents at long-term care homes.

Of the deaths reported today, two were individuals between 20 and 39 years old, four were between 40 and 59 years old, 14 were between 60 and 79 years old, and fi24 were over the age of 80. 

The province has reported 72 new hospitalizations since yesterday, and 11 new admissions of COVID-19 patients to intensive care units.

The Feb. 17 update provided by the province's public health agency also reported the following data:

  • 1,277 new recoveries
  • 10,702 active cases, which is down from 10,985 yesterday
  • 758 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in Ontario, up from 719 reported yesterday. 
  • There are 277 COVID patients in intensive care units (down from 298) and 192 COVID patients on ventilators (down from 211 yesterday).
  • The province reported 56,165 tests were processed yesterday resulting in a 2.2 per cent positivity rate.
  • Another 44,532 tests are still under investigation and/or being processed. To date, 10.5 million tests have been completed.
  • Of the 1,038 new cases reported today, 376 are from Toronto, 142 cases are from Peel, 122 are from York Region, and 45 are from Simcoe-Muskoka
  • There are 156 active outbreaks at long-term care homes, 92 at retirement homes and 47 at hospitals. 
  • Of the cases reported today there are 196 people under 19 years old, 413 people between 20 and 39 years old, 266 people between 40 and 59 years old, 128 people between 60 and 79 years old, and 32 people over the age of 80. 

Variants of concern

  • The province has reported 348 lab-confirmed cases of the UK variant strain of COVID-19 (B.1.1.7). 
  • The province has reported 10 cases of B.1.351 (also known as the South African variant).
  • The province has reported 1 case 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.

Vaccine update for Feb. 17:

  • There were 12,383 doses of vaccines against COVID-19 administered on Feb 17, which is up from 9,107 administered on Feb. 16. 
  • As of 8 p.m. on Feb. 17, the province reported 501,867 doses of vaccine against COVID-19 have been administered.
  • In total, 205,802 people have been fully vaccinated, having received two doses of vaccine, which are to be given a few weeks apart.

Public Health Ontario has confirmed 289,621 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, and reported 272,146 recoveries and 6,773 deaths, of which 3,820 were individuals living in long-term care homes.

The cumulative average incidence rate in the province is 1,948.4 cases per 100,000 people in Ontario.

The weekly incidence rate in Ontario is 51.4 cases per 100,000 people from Feb. 8 to Feb. 14, which is a decrease of 15.7 per cent compared to Feb. 2 to Feb. 8 when the average weekly incidence rate was 61 cases per 100,000 people.

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

  • Algoma Public Health: 196 cases, rate of 171.3 per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 193 cases. There are 10 known active cases. 
  • North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit: 235 cases, rate of 181.1 per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 238 cases. There are 26 known active cases. There is one confirmed case of the South African (B.1.351) variant of concern.
  • Porcupine Health Unit: 307 cases, rate of 367.9 per 100,000 people. There are 11 known active cases. 
  • Public Health Sudbury and Districts: 582 cases, rate of 292.4 per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 575 cases. There are 37 known active cases. There are 3 confirmed variants of concern (VOC) cases, both are the UK (B.1.1.7) strain.
  • Timiskaming Health Unit: 91 cases, rate of 278.4 per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 92 cases. There are no known active cases.
  • Northwestern Health Unit: 373 cases, rate of 425.4 per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 372 cases. There are 89 known active cases. 
  • Thunder Bay District Health Unit: 1,221 cases, rate of 814.2 per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 1,223 cases. There are 166 known active cases.

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Erika Engel

About the Author: Erika Engel

Erika regularly covers all things news in Collingwood as a reporter and editor. She has 15 years of experience as a local journalist
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