Ontario reports 2,553 new COVID cases today, 1,939 yesterday

The province also reported a lower than average number of tests processed today, resulting in the highest per cent positivity rate ever at 9.7 per cent

Public Health Ontario has reported a record 2,552 new cases of COVID-19 today (Dec. 29), and the highest per cent positivity rate ever at 9.7 per cent.

Per cent positivity is the rate of positive results compared to the number of tests processed. The province reported there have been 34,112 tests processed in 24 hours resulting in a 9.7 per cent positivity rate. Throughout December, that rate has ranged from three to 5.4 per cent.

The province's goal is a per cent positivity rate at three per cent or lower.

The province also posted yesterday's COVID-19 data today, noting 1,939 new cases on Dec. 28, as well as 36,565 tests processed, and an 8.6 per cent positivity rate.

The province reported 41 deaths in today's update and 37 yesterday for a total of 78 deaths since the Dec. 27 report. Of those, 30 were residents of long-term care homes. One of the deaths reported over the last two days was an individual between 20 and 39 years old, three were individuals between 40 and 59 years old, 24 were between 60 and 79 years old, and 50 were over the age of 80.

Today's report does not include the number of new hospitalizations.

The Dec. 29 and Dec. 28 updates provided by the province's public health agency today also reported the following:

2,233 new recoveries on Dec. 29 and 2,151 on Dec. 28
864 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in Ontario, up from 823 on Dec. 27. The province notes more than 10 per cent of hospitals did not submit data on hospitalizations so the numbers do not include all hospitalizations.
There are 304 COVID patients in intensive care units (up from 285 on Dec. 27) and 207 COVID patients on ventilators (up from 194 on Dec. 27)
19,891 current active cases in Ontario, which is up from 19,861 reported on Dec. 27
The province has now processed 7.8 million COVID-19 tests
- 34,111 tests reported processed on Dec. 28
- 39,565 tests reported processed on Dec. 27
- 41,783 tests reported processed on Dec. 26
- 49,511 tests reported processed on Dec. 25
Of the 4,492 cases reported over the last two days, 1,307 are from Toronto, 971 are from Peel, 300 are from York Regoin, 244 are from Hamilton, and 90 are from Simcoe-Muskoka.
Based on case data from Dec. 27 and 28, the new cases include 622 people under 20, 1,546 people between 20 and 39 years old,1,349 people between 40 and 59 years old, 694 people between 60 and 79 years old, and 285 people over the age of 80.

Public Health Ontario has confirmed 175,908 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, and reported 151,562 recoveries and 4,455 deaths, of which 2,726 were individuals living in long-term care homes

The cumulative average incidence rate in the province is 1,183.4 cases per 100,000 people in Ontario. The weekly incidence rate in Ontario is 104.7 cases per 100,000 people from Dec. 19 to Dec. 25, which is down by 0.9 per cent compared to Dec. 13-19 when the average weekly incidence rate was 105.7 cases per 100,000 people.

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

Algoma Public Health: 65 cases, rate of 56.8 per 100,000 people. There are three known active cases in the region. Only one is part of the health unit totals, the others are non-Algoma residents temporarily in the region.
North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit: 120 cases, rate of 92.5 per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 122 cases. There are 16 known active cases.
Porcupine Health Unit: 128, rate of 153.4 per 100,000 people. The health unit has also reported one probable case. There are nine known active cases.
Public Health Sudbury and Districts: 264 cases, rate of 132.6 per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 266 cases. There are nine known active cases.
Timiskaming Health Unit: 65 cases, rate of 198.8 per 100,000 people. There are 26 known active cases.
Northwestern Health Unit: 162 cases, rate of 184.8 per 100,000 people. The health unit has also reported four probable cases. There are 19 known active cases.
Thunder Bay District Health Unit: 574 cases, rate of 382.8 per 100,000 people. The health unit has reported 579 cases. There are 84 known active cases.