New COVID-19 cases in Ontario surge again to highest levels since June

TORONTO -- Ontario has recorded another surge in the number of new COVID-19 cases, surpassing Monday's reported 14-week high.

Health officials reported 315 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, which is the highest since June 6 when Ontario added 387 new infections. On June 7, Ontario reported 415 new COVID-19 cases but the government admitted that 223 of those were as a result of a delay in lab reporting. 

The total number of lab-confirmed infections in the province now stands at 45,383, including 40,245 recoveries and deaths.

Ontario added two additional COVID-19-related fatalities on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 2,822.

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There are now 2,511 active cases in the province. Wednesday's tests resulted in a positivity rate of 1.09 per cent. It hasn't been that high since early June.

There are currently 44 people in the hospital being treated for the disease. Twenty of those patients are in the intensive care unit and 12 are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.

Ontario's seven-day rolling average of new infections has now climbed to 243 after dipping down to 85 in August.

Where are the new COVID-19 cases?

Toronto, Ottawa and Peel Region continue to be the province's COVID-19 hotspots.

There are 77 new cases in Toronto, 61 in Ottawa, 54 in Peel Region, 37 in York Region and 24 new in Durham Region.

More than 60 per cent of Wednesday's cases are in people under the age of 40.

Of the new patients, the majority are between the ages of 20 and 39, with 170 new cases reported.

There were 33 new cases in people under the age of 19. In the 40 to 59 age group, there were 56 new cases. There were 55 new cases in people above the age of 60.

The surge in cases come as Ontario Premier Doug Ford discusses the rollback of the social gathering limits in Toronto, Peel and Ottawa, which have been driving the province's COVID-19 case numbers.

The province increased the social gathering limit in mid-July allowing up to 50 people to gather indoors and 100 people outdoors.

People quickly capitalized on the new rules, throwing end-of-summer parties, which public health official say contributed to spread of COVID-19 in densely populated cities. 

Testing numbers remain high

Nearly 30,000 tests were completed in the previous 24-hour period. There are 28,346 tests that are currently investigation. 

Since the start of the pandemic, Ontario has conducted nearly 3.4 million tests.