6 COVID-19 deaths reported in Waterloo Region; 145 in hospital
Health officials in the Region of Waterloo reported six more deaths related to COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total to date to 334.
A spokesperson for the region said the deaths were two women in their 90s, three women in their 80s, and a man in his 80s.
The latest update on the COVID-19 dashboard shows there are 145 COVID-19-positive patients in Waterloo Region hospitals, including 27 in area ICUs.
Another 341 cases were reported on Friday, which includes 290 from Thursday and the rest were added to previous days' totals.
To date, Waterloo Region has confirmed 36,508 cases of COVID-19, including 32,393 recoveries. There are at least 3,407 active cases in Waterloo Region.
There are 77 active outbreaks listed on the region's website, including 39 in long-term care or retirement homes, 27 in congregate settings and 11 in hospitals.
The region's variant of concern breakdown, including resolved cases, is as follows:
- 3,131 are the Alpha variant
- 21 are the Beta variant
- 98 are the Gamma variant
- 4,133 Delta variant
- 394 Omicron variant
Testing partners have performed 728,385 COVID-19 tests to date. The seven-day average positivity rate is 19.1 per cent.
A total of 1,202,563 vaccine doses have been administered in Waterloo Region so far, including 257,557 third doses. Of the population aged five and older, 87.66 per cent have one dose and 81.85 per cent have two doses.
As for the entire population, 82.96 per cent have one dose and 77.51 per cent have two doses.
In Ontario, there are 4,114 people with COVID-19 in hospital, including 590 in ICUs.
The province reported that 54 per cent of the 4,114 hospitalizations are due to COVID-19, while the remaining 46 per cent of people were admitted for other reasons but have now tested positive for the virus. Eighty-two per cent of patients are in ICU primarily due to COVID-19, while 18 per cent of cases are there primarily for other reasons, but also have the virus.
Another 7,165 cases were confirmed on Friday, although officials say those numbers are underestimated due to testing limitations.
Ontario has reported 984,359 COVID-19 cases to date, including 898,589 recoveries and 10,865 deaths.
With files from CTV Toronto
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.