One new COVID-19-related death in Waterloo Region on Friday, 16 more cases
Health officials in Waterloo Region logged one COVID-19-related death and 16 more infections in Friday's report.
The latest death, the region's 282nd, was a woman in her 70s.
Of the 16 new cases, 14 are linked to the past 24 hours, while two are from previous reporting periods.
Friday's update brings Waterloo Region's total caseload to 18,257, including 17,823 resolved infections and 143 active cases.
Meanwhile, hospitalizations in the region dropped by eight in the past day. There are now 13 people hospitalized with COVID-19 across the region, with 13 people receiving treatment in area intensive care units.
One active outbreak was declared resolved in Friday's update, with 11 outbreaks still active.
Health officials have processed 537,724 COVID-19 tests since the pandemic began. As of Friday, the region's positivity rate sits at 2.6 per cent, while the reproductive rate of the virus is 0.8.
The seven-day rolling average cases per 100,000 is 3.2, down from 3.7 on Tuesday.
Health partners across the region put another 5,626 COVID-19 vaccine doses in arms on Thursday, bringing the total number of doses administered to 726,493.
More than 81.1 per cent of the eligible population has receive at least one dose, while 62.82 per cent of residents 12 and older are fully vaccinated.
Another three COVID-19 infections were confirmed as variant of concern cases in Friday's update, bringing the total number of variant cases to 4,579.
Waterloo Region's variant breakdown is as follows:
- 3,122 are the Alpha variant, first identified in the United Kingdom and originally known as B.1.1.7
- 21 are the Beta variant, originally detected in South Africa and previously referred to as B.1.315
- 96 are the Gamma variant, initially discovered in Brazil and labelled as P.1
- 1,083 are the Delta variant, first found in India and previously called B.1.617
- 257 cases have had a mutation detected, but have not yet had a variant strain confirmed
Province-wide, 192 new COVID-19 cases and one death were confirmed in Friday's update.
Ontario’s rolling seven-day average now stands at 160, up from 151 at this point last week.
There have now been 538,271 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ontario.
With files from CTV Toronto.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Canucks claw out 5-4 comeback win over Oilers in Game 1
Dakota Joshua had a goal and two assists and the Vancouver Canucks scored three third-period goals to claw out a 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.