Ontario has now surpassed 300,000 total cases of COVID-19 as more than 1,000 new infections were logged in the province over the past 24 hours.
Ontario recorded 1,062 new cases of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus on Sunday, down from the 1,185 confirmed on Saturday and the 1,258 logged on Friday.
Today’s tally is also down slightly from the 1,087 new infections reported one week ago, but the rolling seven-day average has increased week-over-week. The average number of new infections reported per day is now 1,104, up from 1,031 last Sunday.
The total number of COVID-19 cases confirmed in the province is now 300,816.
With 49,185 tests completed yesterday, the Ministry of Health is reporting a provincewide test positivity rate of 2.4 per cent today, down from 2.7 per cent last week.
Another 20 virus-related deaths were confirmed over the past 24 hours and none of the deaths involve residents of long-term care homes in the province.
The seven-day average of new virus-related deaths in Ontario has dropped to 17, down from 24 last week.
The number of active COVID-19 cases in Ontario was trending downward for several weeks following the provincewide lockdown but as most regions of the province gradually begin to reopen, active infections are unsurprisingly beginning to rise once again.
There are currently 10,492 known active COVID-19 cases in Ontario, up from 10,371 last Sunday.
According to the province, the number of patients with COVID-19 who are receiving treatment in hospital has dipped to 627, although hospitalization data is frequently less reliable during the weekends due to gaps in reporting from some hospitals.
After declining to as low as 263 earlier this month, intensive care admissions continue to rise in Ontario. The province says there are currently 289 COVID-19 patients in intensive care at Ontario hospitals, up from 277 seven days ago.
Of the new cases confimred today, 259 are in Toronto, 201 are in Peel Region, and 86 are in York Region
Two regions of Ontario will be returning to the grey zone of the province’s reopening framework on Monday, forcing many businesses that had just recently reopened to close once again. The province announced Friday that it would be using its so-called “emergency brake” to place both the Simcoe-Muskoka District Health Unit and the Thunder Bay District Health Unit under lockdown amid a recent rise in cases in both health units.
On Friday, the Simcoe-Muskoka District Health Unit was reporting a total of 184 confirmed cases of the more transmissible B.1.1.7 variant, accounting for more than a third of all confirmed cases of a variant of concern across Ontario.
Toronto and Peel Region have not yet exited the Ford government’s provincewide lockdown and most businesses remain closed in both regions. Local politicians in Peel Region have expressed their desire to rejoin the province’s reopening framework in the red zone, which would allow gyms, hair salons, and retail shops to reopen and in-person dining to resume with reduced indoor capacity.
Another 23 cases involving a variant of concern were confirmed in Ontario over the past 24 hours, including 20 cases involving B.1.1.7, two new cases of B.1.351, and one more case of P.1.
Ontario has now administered 687,271 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and 262,103 people have received both doses for full immunization.
The numbers used in this story are found in the Ontario Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Daily Epidemiologic Summary. The number of cases for any city or region may differ slightly from what is reported by the province, because local units report figures at different times.
TORONTO – Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported net income of US$357 million for its third quarter, down from US$364 million in the same quarter last year.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says its profit amounted to 79 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with 79 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue for the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, totalled US$2.29 billion, up from US$1.84 billion in the same quarter last year.
Consolidated comparable sales were up 0.3 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands says it earned 93 cents US per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 90 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Fortis Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $420 million, up from $394 million in the same quarter last year.
The electric and gas utility says the profit amounted to 85 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 81 cents per share a year earlier.
Fortis says the increase was driven by rate base growth across its utilities, and strong earnings in Arizona largely reflecting new customer rates at Tucson Electric Power.
Revenue in the quarter totalled $2.77 billion, up from $2.72 billion in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Fortis says it earned 85 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 84 cents per share in the third quarter of 2023.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 82 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
TORONTO – Thomson Reuters reported its third-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as its revenue rose eight per cent.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says it earned US$301 million or 67 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The result compared with a profit of US$367 million or 80 cents US per diluted share in the same quarter a year earlier.
Revenue for the quarter totalled US$1.72 billion, up from US$1.59 billion a year earlier.
In its outlook, Thomson Reuters says it now expects organic revenue growth of 7.0 per cent for its full year, up from earlier expectations for growth of 6.5 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Thomson Reuters says it earned 80 cents US per share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of 82 cents US per share in the same quarter last year.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 76 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
