Ontario reports less than 500 COVID-19 cases as 7-day average continues to fall

Ontario reported 486 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 594,419.

It marks the sixth day in a row the province reported less than 500 cases.

Health Minister Christine Elliott said of the new cases, 329 involve people who are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status, while 157 are fully vaccinated individuals.

For comparison, last Saturday 654 cases were reported, meaning the seven-day average dropped. It stands at 441, down from Friday when it was 465. Last Saturday, it was 544.

Five additional deaths were also announced on Oct. 16, bringing the provincial virus-related death toll to 9,814.

A total of 580,667 coronavirus cases are considered resolved, which is up by 517.

More than 32,600 additional tests were completed. Ontario has now administered a total of 18,563,680 tests and 14,277 remain under investigation.

The province indicated that the positivity rate for the last day was 1.7 per cent, which is up from Friday’s report, when it was 1.4 per cent, and down slightly from last Saturday’s report, when it was 1.8 per cent.

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Provincial figures showed there are 164 people in intensive care due to COVID-19 (up by one), 103 of whom are on a ventilator (up by one).

Elliott said of those in intensive care, 146 patients are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status, while 18 are fully vaccinated.

As of 8 p.m. Friday, 22,208,199 COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered in Ontario, marking an increase of 30,369. Of the latest shots administered, 10,030 were first doses and 20,339 were second doses.

In Ontario, 87.4 per cent of people aged 12-plus have received at least one vaccine dose and nearly 83 per cent are fully vaccinated.