Positivity rates, effluent indicators, number of cases and hospitalizations increased every week
Ontario’s seventh wave of COVID-19, caused by the Omicron BA.5 subvariant, is increasing cases after a nearly eight-week decline.
Early indicators of the spread of the virus in the province are trending upwards.
The 56,642 tests completed in the past week resulted in an 11.2 percent positivity rate (up from 8.4 percent last week) and showed a 20 percent increase in the number of cases among those eligible to be tested. The rate of positive tests has ranged from 10.7 to 13.5 percent per day this week.
There were 6,499 new cases confirmed this week, up from 5,420 last week.
Between June 26 and July 2, tests confirmed between 514 and 1,241 new cases per day.
There are currently 712 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, with about 56 percent of those admitted to hospital for reasons other than COVID-19 but still testing positive. This is an increase of about 136 more hospitalized patients compared to last week.
There are 110 patients with COVID in intensive care units, including 41 patients on ventilators.
Hospitalizations remained stable during the month of June with between 16 and 44 cases hospitalized per day between June 2 and July 2.
In the past 30 days, there have been between zero and nine deaths per day caused by COVID or the virus was a contributing factor.
Earlier this week, Ontario’s COVID-19 Advisory Table shared via Twitter that sewage alerts, positive test rates and hospitalizations caused by the virus are on the rise.
The Canadian Press reported that the advisory board’s scientific director, Dr. Fahad Razak, said the current wave was caused by the BA.5 strain, a subvariant of Omicron that does not appear to cause more severe disease but can cause large numbers of infections .
He recommended booster shots, meeting outdoors and wearing masks in crowded public places.
Ontario’s Chief Health Officer, Dr. Kieran Moore, also confirmed that the province is in the seventh wave of COVID-19, which is driven by the Omicron BA.5 subvariant.
In Ontario, there are 140 ongoing outbreaks in care facilities such as long-term care and nursing homes and hospitals. These outbreaks were attributed to 660 new cases between June 26 and July 2. There are 27 outbreaks in general housing facilities such as shelters, prisons and group homes.
Since the start of the pandemic, 1,333,902 cases of COVID and 13,454 deaths have been confirmed in the province.
About 50 percent of Ontario’s population has had at least three doses of the COVID vaccine, and nearly 83 percent have had at least two doses.
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