Ontario logs 146 new COVID-19 cases, 7 more deaths

Ontario reported another 146 cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, and the deaths of seven more people with the illness.

Here are some other key pandemic indicators and figures from theMinistry of Health's daily provincial update:

Seven-day average of daily cases: 170

Tests completed: 17,489

Provincewide test positivity rate: 0.8per cent, the lowest reported on a Tuesday since Sept. 1, 2020

Active cases: 1,548

Patients in ICUwith COVID-related illnesses: 192; 123 needed a ventilator to breathe

Total deaths: 9,258

Vaccinations:176,834, which is down considerably from recent Mondays. Roughly 89 per cent were second doses. More than 79 per cent of adults in Ontario have now had at least one shot of a vaccine.

Waterloo moving to Step 3 with rest of province

An Ontario region that delayed its reopening due to a surge in Delta COVID-19 variant cases will lift restrictions along with the rest of the province this week.

Waterloo Region says it will join other public health units in moving to Step 3 of Ontario's reopening plan at 12:01 a.m. on Friday.

The changes will allow indoor dining and gyms to reopen, as well as expand crowd limits on social gatherings and other events.

The region delayed entering the second step of the reopening plan, which allowed hair salons and other venues to open, due to the spike in cases.

But the top doctor for the region said Tuesday that public health indicators have stabilized and vaccination rates have increased rapidly.

Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang also encouraged residents to get their second vaccine doses and continue following public health orders as the Delta variant remains a threat.