Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott says more than 80 per cent of people in the province aged 12 and older have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
That means one of three conditions the province has set for moving beyond Step 3 of its reopening plan has now been met.
The government has also said 75 per cent of people 12 and older must have received their second dose, and no public health unit can have less than 70 per cent of eligible people fully vaccinated.
Elliott says other key health indicators must also be stable.
The province has said that if all of those conditions are met, the majority of restrictions can be lifted as early as 21 days after entering this phase, but some are calling for more details on what a post-Step 3 Ontario will look like.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is calling on the government today to communicate its plan for lifting business restrictions and ensure they won’t be subject to lockdowns in the event of a fourth wave.
Meanwhile, Ontario is reporting 218 COVID-19 cases and three deaths from the virus.
Elliott says there are 38 cases in Toronto, 38 in Peel Region, 25 in Hamilton, 19 in Waterloo Region and 13 in Grey Bruce.
There are 121 people in intensive care with COVID-related critical illness and 79 patients on ventilators.
The latest provincial data shows 99.5 per cent of all COVID-19 ICU admissions from mid-June to mid-July were in unvaccinated or partially vaccinated people, and nearly 96 per cent of related deaths were in the same group.
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