Continuing the pattern of the past several weeks, this most recent composite chart again shows that both Canada-wide and Ontario rates of new COVID infections are continuing to rise very gradually from their seasonal lows of mid-May, which were less than half last year’s mid-March lows.
For Ontario, the rate of positive PCR test results has increased moderately from 2.1% in mid-May to 2.7% in late June. If anything, the severity of those new infections has slightly eased since, over that same period, Ontario COVID hospitalizations and ICU bed occupancy are virtually identical to those of mid-May.
The more independent statisticians at COVID-19 Resources Canada have not updated their estimate from last week one in 118 people being currently infected and therefore infectious.
Turning to the chart comparing the current “market shares” of the most prevalent of the currently-circulating COVID variants, the two new and very closely related recombinant XFG and XFG.3 strains are clearly dominant, now accounting for 57% of all new infections. Quite unusually, they are almost equal in their percentages. NB.1.8.1, which was dominant for less than six weeks, is in decline and now accounts for just 29%. All of their competitors are down into the low single digits.