Ontario reports 213 COVID-19 cases on Sunday

Ontario reported 213new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, up slightly from 209on Saturday.The province is reporting an additional nine deaths.

The new case counts include 49 in Waterloo Region, 42 in Toronto, 25 in Grey Bruce, 17 in Peel Region, and 12 in Halton Region, according to Health Minister Christine Elliott.

The seven-day average continues to decline, hitting 228 on Sunday.

As of 8 p.m. on Saturday, the province has administered 15,561,071COVID-19 vaccine doses.

Ontario has smashed its vaccination targets enough so that the province is technically ready according to its own indicators to hop from Step 1 to Step 3 of reopening.

However, provincial officials say they want to wait a full 21 days before rolling restrictions back further. Most of Ontario moved into Step 2 on Wednesday.

The push continues to encourage more people to get vaccinated.

Starting Monday at 8 a.m., residents 12 to 17 years old will be eligible to book an appointment to receive their second shot of Pfizer through the provincial booking system. They must wait 28 days between doses, as recommended by the Ontario health ministry.

A second dose will ensure teens are protected against the delta variant and can safely return to school in September, the province said.

In Toronto alone, there are 250,000 vaccine appointments available in July, including 65,000 spots open next week, the city says.