Ontario officials reported 139 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, along with 11 new deaths, seven of which became known by investigations into deaths that occurred during the pandemic's second wave.

Wednesday’s count is the third straight decline in cases since a stretch where 200 or more per day were reported last week, with the latest figure bringing the seven-day rolling average of new cases down to 199 from 201 yesterday.

The province reported 164 new cases on Tuesday and 168 new cases on Monday.

Provincial labs processed 17,115 test specimens, generating a positivity rate of at least 1.2 per cent.

Ministry of Health spokesperson Alexandra Hilkene told CP24 that seven of the 11 deaths were confirmed through an ongoing investigation into cause of deaths during the whole length of the pandemic.

She said the seven deaths occurred any time between Dec. 2020 and Feb. 2021, when the province was engulfed in its second wave.

At various points since March 2020, public health officials have disclosed multiple instances where COVID-19 positive people died at home before attempting to seek out medical attention.

Across the GTA, there were 26 new cases in Toronto, 19 in Waterloo Region, 18 in Peel Region, 15 in York Region and 12 in Hamilton.

There have now been 9,360 confirmed deaths due to COVID-19 across Ontario since March 2020, with 540,000 recovered cases and 1,690 known active cases remaining.

Two of the four deaths reported on Wednesday involved residents of the long-term care system.

The Ministry of Health said there were 108 people hospitalized in intensive care units across the province on Wednesday.

Of those, 78 were breathing with the help of a ventilator.

Hospital networks and local public health units reported a total of 117 people in hospital due to COVID-19 across Ontario on Wednesday.

The province administered more than 60,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, officials said.

They said 12,086 were first doses while 48,008 were second doses.

The pace of vaccine administration has slowed from June and July, when the province hit 250,000 shots per day on several days.

The slowdown has meant the province’s supply of vaccine in freezers has grown to nearly 4.4 million shots.