Ontario logs 346 new cases of COVID-19 and 13 more deaths on Saturday

Ontario reported 346 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, an increase from 256 new cases the previous day. 

The province is reporting an additional 13 deaths.

Saturday's numbers 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 Grey Bruce and 24 in the Porcupine Health Unit region, according to Health Minister Christine Elliott.

The minister said Ontario's network of labs completed more than 25,600 tests in the last 24 hours.

As of 8 p.m. on Friday, a cumulative total of 13,824,469 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.

This total includes 256,260 doses administered on Friday, which is a new single day record for vaccinations in Ontario, Elliott said.

In a tweet on Saturday, Dr. Isaac Bogoch, infectious diseases specialist at Toronto General Hospital, said the vaccination effort is "impressive."

The new deaths take the province's death toll to 9,114 since the start of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, there are currently 227 people receiving treatment in Ontario hospitals due to the virus.

A total of 286 patients are in intensive care units. Of this number, 183 are breathing with the help of ventilators.

Youth in delta hot spots can get 2nd doses

As of 8 a.m. on Saturday, Ontario youth between the ages of 12 to 17 who live in designated hot spots for the Delta COVID-19 variant can book accelerated second vaccine dose appointments.

Health units covering the following are considered hot spots for the more transmissible variant:

• Durham.
• Halton.
• Hamilton.
• Peel.
• Porcupine
• Simcoe-Muskoka.
• Toronto.
• Waterloo.
• Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph.
• York.

That demographic will have the option to rebook their second doses as of 8 a.m. Saturday, through the provincial booking portal, pharmacies or their local health unit.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only shot currently authorized for use in youth in Canada.

Vaccines have been booked four months apart in Ontario, but the province is offering more people the option to shorten the interval based on increasing vaccine supply.

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 by a mass immunization clinic at Scotiabank Arena as part of Toronto Vaccine Day on Sunday.

The city and Toronto Vaccine Day clinic partners, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment and Scotiabank, have teamed up with Michael Garron Hospital and University Health Network to hold the "Our Winning Shot" clinic that will provide vaccines to 25,000 people.

The city said in a news release on Saturday that Toronto continues to see strong demand for second doses as eligibility expands, and residents are urged to get their second dose as soon as possible to ensure they are fully vaccinated.

Even though the Scotiabank Arena clinic is fully booked, there may be appointments available because there could be cancellations, the city added

Anyone looking for an appointment is asked to check the provincial vaccine booking system.

New guidance for vaccinated Canadians issued

On Friday, Canada released guidelines on what fully vaccinated Canadians can and can't do safely together.

In an infographic posted to the Public Health Agency of Canada's website on Friday, fully vaccinated Canadians were told they could now gather outdoors with the partially vaccinated or unvaccinated without masking or physically distancing.