Ontario reports 226 new COVID-19 cases, releases guidelines on 'exit step' of reopening

Ontario reported 226 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, as the provincesays it won't lift its mask mandate in the next phase of reopeningeven as it drops most other public health measures meant to curb the spread of the virus.

There's still no date for when the province will move to what it calls the "Exit Step" of its "Roadmap to Reopening," but the government says it's giving residents and businesses a sense of what's to come.

The exit step will ditch capacity limits.

But businesses must continue "passive screening" for COVID-19, for example by having signs posted.

They must also keep a safety plan in place that details how they will follow existing public health protocols.

The government says it is keeping the mask mandate in place, unlike Alberta and New Brunswick, because the more contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 is dominant in Ontario.

It notes that Quebec and Israel have done the same thing, and that the American Centers for Disease Control recommends that people who are fully vaccinated wear masks indoors in areas of high COVID-19 transmission.

The province announced Thursday that 80 per cent of residents aged 12 and older have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, meaning one of three conditions the province has set for moving beyond Step 3 of its reopening plan has been met.

In order to move out of Step 3, the government has also said 75 per cent of people 12 and older must have received their second dose, and all public health units must have 70 per cent of eligible people fully vaccinated.

If vaccination targets are met and health indicators are stable after three weeks in Step 3, restrictions could roll back further, making Aug. 6 the earliest possible date for the change.

Ontario reports 226 new COVID-19 cases

Of Friday's new cases, Health Minister Christine Elliott says 62 of the new cases are in Toronto, 35 were in Waterloo Region, and 24 were in Peel.

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

Seven-day average of daily cases: 170

Tests completed: 20,993

Provincewide test positivity rate: 1.1 per cent

Active cases: 1,491

Patients in ICUwith COVID-related illnesses: 117, with59needinga ventilator to breathe

Deaths: 11, pushing the official toll to 9,339

Vaccinations: 83,907, most of whichwere second doses.Just over 81per cent of adults have at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and just over 70 per cent are fully vaccinated.