Coronavirus Canada Updates: More than 2,000 Alberta health-care workers have received their first COVID-19 shot
As well, 119 more cases are now considered resolved by health officials, pushing the number of COVID-19 recoveries in the province to 38,625.
The last time new daily case numbers in Ontario were below the 100 mark was on August 26 when 88 new infections were reported.
There are currently 1,249 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Most of the new cases added on Thursday were reported in people between the ages of 40 and 59. The 42 new patients in that age group bring the total to 12,706.
Another 41 new patients are between the ages of 20 and 39 and make up 13,419 of all cases in the province, the most of any age group.
Nineteen new cases were recorded in people 19 years of age and younger, a statistic Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he has been keeping a close eye on as students prepare to return to class.
Twenty-one cases were reported in patients between the ages of 60 and 79 and eight cases were reported in patients 80 years of age or older.
Health officials concerned by trends
Dr. David Williams said during a press conference on Thursday that he's concerned by Ontario's COVID-19 trends.
"It does concern me because we were well under 100 for a week or so and then we bumped up higher," Williams said. "I'm hearing from health units, as I talk to Peel and Toronto, they're dealing with clusters around social events."
Williams said that people not following public health guidelines is a "concerning issue" and is pleading with Ontarians to "stay the task."
"I know it's a long run but it's just the way it is with these viruses," Williams said.
Meanwhile, Most of the new cases reported on Thursday are in just three regions. There were 45 new cases in Peel, 31 in Toronto and 22 in Ottawa.
Of the province’s 34 public health units, 18 reported no new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday.
The other 13 public health units recorded five or fewer new cases.
COVID-19 testing in Ontario
The province has completed more than three million tests for COVID-19 since the beginning of the outbreak.
At least 26,298 of those tests were processed in the last 24 hours alone.
There are 22,769 tests currently under investigation
Premier Jason Kenney announced 306 new cases of COVID-19, marking the biggest single day increase Alberta has reported since the start of the outbreak. It also brings Canada’s total case count to over 40,000.
There have also been five more deaths in the past 24 hours, increasing the province’s death to 66. The fatalities are among Alberta’s 3,401 total cases, which also includes 1,310 people who have recovered from the respiratory virus.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province’s chief medical officer of health, reported Alberta’s first case on a First Nation, involving an individual on Sucker Creek First Nation, about 22 kilometres east of High Prairie. Their reason for transmission is believed to be close contact with another patient in High Prairie.
The outbreak at the Kearl Lake oilsands facility north of Fort McMurray continues, with there now being 32 linked cases. Twenty-five of the cases are in Alberta, including 10 workers who are in isolation at the camp. Five of the linked cases involve individuals in B.C., while one each is from Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan.
The Cargill meat processing plant in High River now has 440 infections of COVID-19 among workers, while 580 cases are linked to the facility. JBS Foods near Brooks, Alta., another meat processing plant, has reported 96 cases. Hinshaw said there have been two more deaths in Brooks, but COVID-19 tests are still being completed to determine whether they died of the virus.
Among long-term care facilities, health officials have identified 375 cases and 44 deaths, according to Hinshaw. There are now 70 people in hospital, including 18 in intensive care. As of April 22, 108,521 people have been tested for COVID-19.
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