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Ontario logs 613 new COVID-19 cases, no further deaths

The seven-day average of daily COVID-19 cases in Ontario stands at 621. (Craig Chivers/CBC - image credit)
The seven-day average of daily COVID-19 cases in Ontario stands at 621. (Craig Chivers/CBC - image credit)

Ontario reported 613 new cases of COVID-19 and no further deaths linked to the illness on Monday.

Of the 544 cases today with a known vaccination status:

  • 350, or 64 per cent, were in those unvaccinated.

  • 35, or about six per cent, had a single dose.

  • 159, or 29 per cent, had two doses.

The seven-day average of daily cases remained flat at 621.

Ontario: New daily cases of COVID-19

Here are some other key pandemic indicators and figures from the Ministry of Health's daily provincial update:

Newly reported school-related cases: 135; 120 students, 13 staff and two individuals who were not identified. About 779 schools, or 16 per cent of Ontario's 4,844 publicly-funded schools, currently have at least one confirmed case. One school in the province is closed due to COVID-19.

Tests completed in the last 24 hours: 22,633.

Provincewide test positivity rate: Two per cent.

Active cases: 5,626.

Patients in ICU with COVID-related illnesses: 184, with 130 needing a ventilator to breathe.

Death toll to date: 9,704.

Vaccinations: 20,454 doses were administered by public health units on Sunday. About 85.9 per cent of Ontarians aged 12 years or older have now received at least one dose of a vaccine, while 80.3 per cent have received two doses.

Courtice, Ont. school closes after 11 COVID-19 cases

An elementary school in Courtice, Ont. has closed for in-person learning after reporting 11 COVID-19 cases since an outbreak was first declared on Sept. 16.

In a letter to parents and students Saturday, the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board said that Monsignor Leo Cleary Catholic Elementary School will be closed for in-person classes for at least two weeks.

The board said it came to its decision as a result of Durham Region Health Department (DRHD) declaring a facility-wide COVID-19 outbreak at the school and ongoing level of COVID-19 activity, in addition to the number of staff and students who have also been dismissed.

"DRHD is strongly recommending that all staff and students get tested for COVID-19 to identify additional cases in the school," the letter noted.

Galen Eagle, a spokesperson for the board, said that approximately 181 students and 19 staff will transition into virtual learning until the school reopens.

Small businesses lack support on vaccine passports: Horwath

Meanwhile, Minister of Labour Monte McNaughton acknowledged Monday that the burden of enforcing vaccine certificates falls largely to small business owners. He added that since the certificate program went into on Sept. 22, there have been only "very minimal" instances of business owners or employees having to call police for assistance with patrons.

McNaughton announced 100 additional health and safety inspectors were graduating Monday and would be visiting workplaces in construction, industrial and health-care settings. They will also be deployed to help educate businesses and employees about Ontario's COVID-19 vaccine certificate system.

"Our government's inspectors will be patient, lead with education, and be reasonable to business owners and frontline workers implementing the vaccine certificate," McNaughton said.

Speaking to reporters outside Queen's Park, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said the provincial government has largely failed to provide the supports necessary to help small businesses through the initial phases of the vaccine certificate program.

"This is another example of [Premier] Doug Ford pinching pennies, not wanting to spend the money and everybody else having to step up and pay the price," she said.

Next month, the province expects to have a smartphone-based app available that will use QR codes to make the process of checking the vaccination status of customers more efficient.