Ontario reported a record-high 939 new daily cases of COVID-19, which has prompted Doug Ford’s provincial government to impose new restrictions on hotspots Toronto, Peel Region and Ottawa.
It’s the 12th straight day the province has exceeded the 500-case mark. Ontario’s daily case count continues to increase, breaking its own record on four occasions over two weeks. Before the recent stretch, the province had not reported more than 500 cases since May 2.
“My friends, the situation today is extremely serious,” said Premier Doug Ford. “All trends are going in the wrong direction.”
Of the most recent 939 cases, 336 were identified in Toronto, 150 in Peel, 126 in Ottawa, 68 in York, 59 in Halton, 40 in Hamilton, 32 in Durham, 28 in Simcoe-Muskoka and 24 in Middlesex-London. The remaining 25 public health units reported fewer than 20 cases, while nine of them reported no new patients at all.
The latest patients were identified after the province completed 44,914 tests. The 2.1 per cent positivity rate is the highest it has recorded since June 7.
There are 358 new cases among those 20-39 years old, the most of any age group. There are 266 new cases among those 40-59, 156 among those 19 and under, and 153 involving those who are at least 60 years old. Twelve of the patients involve long-term care residents and 12 involve health-care workers.
In K-12 schools across Ontario, there are 56 new cases of COVID-19. That includes 32 among students, nine among staff and 15 that have not yet been identified by the Ministry of Health. Fourteen more schools have reported their first patients in the latest 24-hour stretch. Since they reopened in September, there have been 876 total cases among 429 learning institutions. Four of the province’s 4,828 schools have been forced to close.
In the latest 24-hour stretch, five more people have died, including two long-term care residents. In addition, 724 patients have recently recovered.
There are now 5,652 active cases throughout the province. The most Ontario has ever had was on April 25, when there were 5,675 infected patients province-wide during the peak of its first wave.
Of those currently infected patients, 2,325 are in Toronto, 970 in Ottawa and 877 in Peel Region and 540 in York.
Across Ontario, there are 225 people in hospital, the most since June 29. That includes 47 in intensive care and 29 who require a ventilator.
