Waterloo Region adds 20 COVID-19 cases on Thursday; active outbreaks decline
The Region of Waterloo is reporting 20 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday as the number of active outbreaks in the area dropped.
The latest cases bring the region's total since the pandemic began to 18,340, including 17,930 resolved infections, 119 active cases and 282 deaths.
Two active COVID-19 outbreaks were declared resolved in the past 24 hours, down from eight to six.
The number of people hospitalized with the disease remains unchanged from the previous update, currently sitting at 13. Of those, 12 are receiving treatment in area intensive care units.
Another 4,616 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered in Waterloo Region on Wednesday, bringing the total number of jabs put into arms to 753,747.
Among residents 12 and older, 82.7 per cent have now received at least one dose, while 68.3 per cent of the eligible population is fully vaccinated.
In Thursday's report, 11 infections were confirmed as variant of concern cases. Health officials in Waterloo Region have confirmed 4,683 variant of concern cases since the pandemic began.
The 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
- 1,187 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, health officials confirmed 218 new COVID-19 cases, marking the first time the daily case count has been more than 200 in three weeks.
Thursday's report brings the total number of lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases across Ontario to 549,952, including 539,200 recoveries and 9,328 deaths related to the disease.
With files from CTV Toronto.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh confirms his party will support the Liberals' federal budget
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party will support the federal budget, ending any speculation that the party could pull out of its deal with the minority Liberal government.
Dental care program accepting claims for 1 million seniors
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech says 1,200 seniors have already visited a dentist and had their claims processed by the federal government's new dental care plan.