Ottawa Public Health recorded 132 cases of COVID-19 on Sunday as the province’s municipal hot spots continue to generate significant numbers of new infections.
OPH also reported five new deaths. There have now been 328 COVID-related deaths in Ottawa since the start of the pandemic.
According to figures released Sunday by Public Health Ontario, the number of confirmed cases in the province increased by 977 in the preceding 24-hour period. That represented a 3.7 per cent decline from the previous day’s total of 1,015 new cases.
Nine more people died from the respiratory virus, bringing Ontario’s COVID-19 death toll to 3,145.
Toronto again reported the most cases – 238 – and was followed by Peel Region (238), Ottawa and York Region (113).
The latest numbers were published as government officials contemplate easing restrictions imposed in the the province’s COVID-19 hotspots.
On Friday, Premier Doug Ford said the public health restrictions imposed Oct. 10 were designed as a short-term answer to rising case counts in those regions.
“I truly believe if we didn’t make this decision … we would be having a different conversation today,” Ford told reporters. “We’d be having a conversation possibly like France or Spain.”
Spain, France, England and Germany have imposed national lockdowns because of soaring COVID-19 caseloads.
In Ontario, the government closed gyms and theatres, and banned indoor dining at restaurants and bars in the hot spots while also imposing new rules on the size of social gatherings. The restrictions were imposed for a 28-day period that’s scheduled to expire on Nov. 6.
The measures have angered some business owners, who say the restrictions unfairly target restaurants, bars and gyms without convincing evidence to back them.
A key factor in determining the extent to which restrictions will be eased will be the state of the province’s hospitals.
According to provincial statistics published Saturday, 320 people were in hospital with COVID-19, 73 of those in intensive care units. One day earlier, 312 people were in hospital with the same disease, 75 of those in ICUs.
Eastern Ontario reported nine new cases Sunday, while the district health units in Renfrew County, and in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark each recorded two new cases. No new cases were reported in the previous 24 hours in Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington.
Quebec recorded 965 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, down from the 1,064 new cases reported one day earlier by the province.
Montreal was again the region that added the most infections — 247 — followed by the Montérégie (138) and Lanaudière (118).
Outaouais reported 35 new cases Sunday, for a total of 2,514 since the pandemic began. There were two more deaths, bringing the regional toll to 45.
Six new deaths were reported across Quebec on Sunday, adding to the 15 reported one day earlier.
A total of 496 people were in hospital with COVID-19 in Quebec on Sunday, seven fewer than the previous day. Among those in hospitals, 84 were in intensive care.
