Ontario is reporting nearly 2,300 new cases of COVID-19 ahead of an announcement from the Ford government that could see new restrictions introduced in some regions.
The Ministry of Health says that there were 2,290 new cases of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus confirmed on Thursday as well as an additional 40 deaths. That is down from the record 2,432 infections reported one day prior but it still represents the second highest number that we have ever seen in a single day.
The rolling seven-day average also continues to rise and now stands at 2,089, which is up 11.6 per cent from this time last week and nearly 19 per cent from two weeks ago.
The latest cases do come on record 68, 246 tests, which helped to push the overall positivity rate down to 3.9 per cent. That is the lowest that number has been since the weekend.
Meanwhile, the number of COVID patients in intensive care units declined slightly from 263 to 261 over the last 24 hours but still remains on the verge of eclipsing the record that was set during the first wave of the pandemic in April (264).
That, it should be pointed out, came during a time that the province’s ICUs were under significantly less strain due to the cancellation of elective surgeries and procedures provincewide.
Nearly 60 per cent of the latest cases are in the three GTHA regions under a lockdown with Toronto reporting 691, Peel reporting 361 and York reporting 296.
But cases continue to surge in other regions as well.
Hamilton is reporting another 126 new cases today and now has a weekly incidence rate per 100,000 residents which is actually worse than that of York Region, which was placed under a lockdown on Monday.
Windsor is also reporting another 207 new cases, an all-time high.
Photo credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
News source: CP24
