This is the Friday, February 26, 2021 coronavirus update. Despite more active cases in Oakville today, Halton's total has gone down. Hospitalizations regionally are up 50% in the last two days. The number of closed classrooms in Halton have doubled since Wednesday this week.
Ontario's active cases increase again today as variants of concern account for a higher percentage of new cases province-wide. Canada approves the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine. The global death total surpassed 2.5 million people worldwide earlier today.
Note: Oakville figures are updated seven days a week with Ontario and Global cases. Schools do not update on weekends.
Oakville and Halton COVID-19 update
- Halton has completed just over 28,000 vaccinations to date - 4.82% of the population
- According to a provincial update today, Halton is currently testing fewer people per 100,000 than any other health unit in Ontario
- The Town of Oakville is supporting the choice of vaccination sites by the region
- The percent positivity locally drops to 2.5% - right on the line between the Red and Orange levels
- Closed classrooms in Halton have doubled in the last 36 hours, from 10 to 20
Changes in figures are since the Oakville News update on February 25, 2021.
- 73 active cases - plus 2
- 9 patients at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital - no change
- 2,962 total cases (confirmed and probable) - plus 12
- 59 deaths - no change
- 2,830 recoveries (95.5% of all cases) - plus 10
- 2,889 completed (recoveries+deaths) cases - 97.2% of cases
- 5 outbreaks - no change
Status in Halton
- 224 active cases - minus 6
- 20 cases in hospitals across Halton - plus 3
- 8 confirmed "variant of concern" cases - no change
- 9,387 total cases (confirmed+probable) - plus 31
- 195 deaths - no change
- 8,968 recoveries (95.4% of all cases) - plus 37
- 9,163 completed (recoveries+deaths) cases - 97.5% of cases
- 16 outbreaks - minus 2
Local schools update
- 21 active cases in Oakville - plus 4
- 44 active cases in Halton - plus 7
- 20 Halton classrooms closed - plus 5
Note: Halton Region's recovery count is combined into one number with probable, now closed cases. This total includes some cases that were not coronavirus recoveries.
Ontario COVID-19 update
- Ontario reports another increase in active cases, with yesterday ending a 44-day recovery streak
- Almost 10% of all schools in Ontario have reported a case of COVID-19 since schools reopened this month
- General Rick Hiller, vaccine task force leader, announces online appointment booking will begin on March 15, 2021 for those eligible
- Ontario administered 21,805 doses of vaccines yesterday, a new single-day high
- Several experts are warning Ontario's leadership not to ease COVID-19 health restrictions; fearing a third wave led by international variants
- In the last year, Ontario has processed over 10 million COVID-19 tests
Changes are from yesterday’s figures. Information released as of February 26, 2021 for the end of yesterday.
- 10,294 active cases - plus 223
- 683 people hospitalized - minus 4
- 642,700 vaccinations - plus 21,800
- 477 confirmed cases of the B.1.1.7 (U.K.) variant - plus 28
- 298,569 confirmed cases - plus 1,258
- 281,331 recovered cases - plus 1,007
- 6,944 deaths - plus 28
- 288,275 resolved cases (deaths & recovered) or 96.4%
- 64,049 tests conducted, coming back 2.3% positive
- 284 people in ICU - plus 1
- 193 people on ventilators - plus 11
Summary of Institutional Outbreaks (Long Term Care Homes, Retirement Homes, Hospitals)
- 200 active, ongoing outbreaks - minus 5
Summary of School Outbreaks
- 735 cases reported in the last two weeks - plus 60
- 877 cases reported since schools reopened earlier this month
- 468 schools with at least one active case (9.7%) - plus 38
- 18 schools closed - no change
Dr. Adalsteinn Brown (co-chair of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table) and Dr. David Williams (Ontario’s chief medical officer of health) discussed Ontario’s updated modelling data yesterday, based on the variants of concern:
Canada and Global COVID-19 updates
- Health Canada approves use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine; its the third vaccine approved for use in Canada
- Johnson & Johnson releases results of their one-dose vaccine efficacy trials between 72-86% effective (no word yet on what countries will approve the vaccine)
- Travellers entering Canada by land must now take a COVID-19 test
- Professor and epidemiologist Raywat Deonandan said a third wave in Canada is "mathematically inevitable"; Dr. Theresa Tam shares his concern
- A new variant, B.1.526, is confirmed to be spreading in New York City
- With vaccinations continuing in America, new, daily cases have fallen by 70% in the last six weeks
- Global deaths reach a grim milestone of 2.5 million
Changes in Canadian figures are since the last Oakville News update, February 25, 2021. With the high number of cases nationwide and globally, all numbers are approximate (within 0.1% of the total.)
- 30,300 active cases - minus 200
- 1.75 million people received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine (4.6% of pop.)
- 860,500 confirmed and suspected cases to date
- 21,905 deaths - plus 58
- 808,300 recoveries - plus 2,900
United States coronavirus update
- 28.45 million total cases
- 509,000+ deaths
- 68.3 million+ vaccinations (20.4% of people)
- 6% of the USA has been fully vaccinated, far ahead of Canada's total (less than 1%)
Global coronavirus update
- 113.2 million total cases
- 2.5 million deaths
- 227.5 million+ vaccinations (3 doses per 100 people)
Sources: