Ontario reported 346 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, an increase from 256 new cases the day before.
The province is reporting 13 more deaths.
Saturday’s figures end a five-day streak of fewer than 300 daily cases.
The new daily case count includes 64 in Toronto, 39 in Waterloo region, 34 in Peel region, 32 in Gray Bruce and 24 in the Porcupine Health Unit region, according to Health Minister Christine Elliott.
The minister said the Ontario laboratory network has performed more than 25,600 tests in the past 24 hours.
As of 8 p.m. on Friday, a cumulative total of 13,824,469 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine had been administered.
That total includes 256,260 doses given on Friday, which is a new one-day record for vaccinations in Ontario, Elliott said.
In a tweet on Saturday, Dr Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist at Toronto General Hospital, said the vaccination effort was “impressive.”
Ontario administered 256,260 vaccines against # COVID19 yesterday. A record.
This is a major team effort involving thousands of caregivers, volunteers and amp; so many heroes behind the scenes.
Equally important federal, provincial, PHU & municipal coordination.
Impressive. pic.twitter.com/2uG6H7gpdW
The new deaths bring the death toll in the province to 9,114 since the start of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, 227 people are currently receiving treatment in Ontario hospitals for the virus.
A total of 286 patients are in intensive care units. Of these, 183 breathe using ventilators.
Youth in Delta Hotspots May Get 2nd Dose
Starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday, young Ontarians between the ages of 12 and 17 who live in designated hotspots for the Delta COVID-19 variant can make expedited appointments for the second dose of the vaccine.
Health units covering the following are considered hot spots for the most transmissible variant:
- Durham.
- Halton.
- Hamilton.
- Peel.
- Porcupine
- Simcoe-Muskoka.
- Toronto.
- Waterloo.
- Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph.
- York.
This demographic will have the option to reserve their second doses starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, through the provincial reservation portal, pharmacies or their local health unit.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only vaccine currently authorized for use in young people in Canada.
Vaccines have been booked four months apart in Ontario, but the province is offering more people the option to shorten the interval as the vaccine supply increases.
Record number of people to be vaccinated in Toronto
A record number of people are expected to be vaccinated in Toronto this weekend.
Vaccination clinics, which continue to be held across the city, will be bolstered with a mass vaccination clinic at the Scotiabank Arena as part of Immunization Day in Toronto on Sunday.
The city and Toronto Vaccine Day Clinic partners Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment and Scotiabank have teamed up with Michael Garron Hospital and the University Health Network to host the “Our Winning Shot” clinic which will provide vaccines to 25,000 people.
The city said in a press release on Saturday that Toronto continues to see strong demand for second doses as eligibility increases, and residents are urged to receive their second dose as soon as possible to ensure they are fully vaccinated.
Even though the Scotiabank Arena clinic is full, there may be appointments available as there could be cancellations, the city added.
Anyone looking for an appointment is kindly requested to check the provincial vaccine reservation system.
New guidelines released for vaccinated Canadians
Canada released guidelines on what fully immunized Canadians can and cannot do together safely on Friday.
In one infographics Posted on the Public Health Agency of Canada’s website on Friday, fully vaccinated Canadians were told they can now congregate outdoors with partially vaccinated or unvaccinated people without masks or physical distancing.