This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February of 2020 shows the virus that causes COVID-19.The Associated Press
Ontario is reporting 854 new COVID-19 cases today and two more deaths from the virus, while Quebec is reporting 1,171 new cases of COVID-19 and three additional virus-related deaths.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says 474 of the new infections are among people who aren’t fully vaccinated, and 31 are in people whose vaccination status isn’t known.
In Ontario, 254 people are hospitalized, including 134 in intensive care and 77 on ventilators.
Provincial figures show 86.2 per cent of people aged 12 and older have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, noting the immunization of kids between the ages of five and 11 continues to ramp up.
The latest case numbers are based on 31,444 completed tests.
The results come a day after Canada announced a ban on entry for foreign nationals who travelled through southern Africa due to fears about a new variant called Omicron.
Meanwhile, Quebec’s latest figures mark the second day in a row on which the province has logged more than 1,000 new infections and the highest number of new daily cases recorded since April.
Quebec’s Health Department says the number of hospitalizations associated with COVID-19 declined by one from the day before to 205, while the number of people in intensive care rose by five to 48.
Authorities say 31,835 COVID-19 tests were analyzed Friday, with a positivity rate of 3.4 per cent.
The Health Department says 23,482 doses of vaccine were administered on Friday, including 14,000 first doses administered to children aged five through 11.
Officials say 84 per cent of Quebecers five and over have now received at least one dose of vaccine, including five per cent of children five through 11.
In New Brunswick, public health officials reported 85 new cases.
A government news release says there are now 793 active, reported infections of the disease across the province.
Health officials say there are 61 COVID-19 patients currently in hospital, including 16 people in intensive care.
The provincial government says any household in New Brunswick with a positive case of COVID-19 must isolate for 14 days, regardless of its members’ vaccination status.
The release says more than 10,000 appointments have been booked since Tuesday for children aged five to 11 to receive their first dose of the pediatric COVID-19 vaccine.
Online data shows 88 per cent of New Brunswickers aged 12 and older are now fully vaccinated, while more than 93 per cent have received at least one dose of a vaccine.