Ontario COVID cases top 1,000

‘Hospitalization rates remain low and our intensive care units remain low,’ health minister says

More cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 cropped up in various Toronto-area public health units Friday, as Ontario recorded its highest daily case count in six months.

There were 1,031 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the province on Friday, the first time the daily tally has climbed above 1,000 since May 30. Nearly all of the new cases were confirmed as the Delta variant.

While the high number may seem alarming, Health Minister Christine Elliott said it’s not unexpected.

“We did anticipate when we developed the road map to reopen that there would be an increase in the case counts,” she told a news conference in Ottawa.

“But I think the other really important factor is that even as cases are growing – which are primarily the Delta variant at this point – that our hospitalization rates remain low and our intensive care units remain low.”

As of Friday, 286 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in the province, including 146 in intensive care units.

Meanwhile, York Region reported its first case of the Omicron variant, a child under the age of 12 who returned from a southern African country on Nov. 22 and has been isolating ever since.

The child’s close contacts are also isolating, York Public Health said.

Durham Region confirmed its second case of the variant, a day after reporting its first.

Toronto Public Health has said that second Durham case is linked to an outbreak at the Toronto East Detention Centre, which was declared Thursday out of an abundance of caution after one person tested positive for the virus.

The public health unit in Toronto was also investigating a suspected case of the Omicron variant Friday in a restaurant employee who public health officials say recently travelled to South Africa. It was asking patrons of the restaurant Piccolo Caffe E Vino who may have been exposed to the employee to get tested for COVID-19.

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization issued updated recommendations Friday for vaccine booster shots after a federal request for guidance in light of the new variant, saying anyone aged 50 and older is advised to get one.

That’s in line with Ontario’s announcement Thursday that anyone 50 and over would be eligible to book a booster starting Dec. 13.

“We are taking our approach to the booster shot very seriously,” Elliott said Friday.

The public health unit in Toronto was also investigating a suspected case of the Omicron variant Friday