COVID-19: Ontario reports 2,448 new cases, 19 deaths

March 28, 2021NOW Staff

A photo of social distancing signage on TTC streetcars

Ontario reported more than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases for a fourth consecutive day on March 28.

The seven-day rolling average – which experts consider a more accurate indication of virus spread – has also crossed 2,000 and is now 2,038 compared with 1,538 last Saturday.

The province confirmed 2,453 new cases on Saturday, 2,169 on Friday, 2,380 on Thursday and 1,571 on Wednesday.

The virus has killed another 19 people, including one person between age 40 and 59.

Labs in the province completed 50,227 tests in the past 24 hours, making for a positivity rate of 4.5 per cent. That’s up from 3.7 per cent this time last week.

Hospitalizations dropped to 917 patients over the previous day and there are 366 people – up by one – in intensive care units, including 217 on ventilators.

“Locally, there are 780 new cases in Toronto, 356 in Peel, 278 in York Region, 219 in Durham and 150 in Ottawa,” Health Minister Christine Elliott wrote on Twitter.

Another 102 cases have screened positive for the fast-spreading B117 variant, bringing the total confirmed cases to 1,625. To date, more than 18,300 cases have screened positive for variant mutations. The specimens must undergo two-week genomic testing to determine the strain.

As of 8 pm last night, the province had administered 1,981,282 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Two more vaccination clinics are set to open in Toronto tomorrow at Malvern Community Recreation Centre and Mitchell Field Arena.

There are appointment slots available for eligible for people born in 1951 and earlier at all Toronto-run mass immunization sites, the city said on Sunday.