Ontario sees 531 new COVID-19 cases, three quarters in unvaccinated people

Ontario reported 531 further cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, and for a second straight day data on the number of patients being treated for COVID-related critical illnesses was not available.

The Ministry of Health said in an email that a "technical issue" at the service that collects data on intensive care units means that no update would be published with the province's daily report. The figures could come later today if the problem is fixed, the ministry said.

That said, there were a total of 176 people hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Wednesday, the most since July 9. 

Of the 503 new cases today with a known vaccination status:

• 382, or 76 per cent, were individuals who had not received a dose.
• 75, or 15 per cent, were individuals with two doses.
• 46, or about nine per cent, were individuals with a single dose.

Notably, the province's data on the vaccination status of cases does not include breakdowns by age, or indicate how long after a first or second shot of COVID-19 vaccine a person contracted the virus, or whether they were symptomatic at the time of testing.

The health ministry also reported the deaths of 17 more people with the illness, but said that 15 "occurred more than two months ago" and were included today as part of a data cleanup by Public Health Ontario. 

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

Seven-day rolling average of daily cases: 498, its highest point since June 14.

Tests completed in the last 24 hours: 26,213.

Provincewide test positivity rate: 2.4 per cent.

Active cases: 4,243.

Death toll: 9,448

Vaccinations: 45,545 doses were administered by public health units on Tuesday, 16,610 of which were first doses — the most on a single day in three weeks. The uptick is likely linked to the province expanding eligibility for vaccines to youth who are turning 12 this year. About 74.2 per cent of eligible Ontarians, those aged 12 and older, have now had two shots. That works out to roughly 65.6 per cent of Ontario's total population.

Ontario working on vaccine and testing policy for public servants

Meanwhile the province announced Thursday it is consulting with the union representing public servants on a vaccination or testing policy for all members of the Ontario Public Service.

Once finalized, the policy will apply to those working in ministries as well as staff in ministers' offices and commissions.

The policy will require Ontario public servants to either be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, provide a medical reason for not being vaccinated and undertake regular testing or undergo an educational session and be subject to regular testing.

The OPS employs over 64,000 people.