Ontario admits data glitch incorrectly reported lowest number of new COVID-19 cases in six weeks

TORONTO -- Ontario recorded 341 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, while noting that a data error on Thursday incorrectly reported the lowest number of new patients in six weeks.

The new cases on Friday brings the provincial total to 21,922. Health officials also reported 27 additional COVID-19 deaths on Friday. The death toll now stands at 1,825.

The total number of recoveries in Ontario has also increased to 16,641. The number of resolved cases accounts for more than 75.9 per cent of cases in the province.

That means Ontario’s new daily cases continue to trend downward as we expand our #COVID19 testing guidelines to ensure we keep a close eye on any shifts in community spread and identify and contain new cases.

— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) May 15, 2020

Health Minister Christine Elliott commented on the error, which she described as a "glitch", at a news conference on Friday

“This was actually just a technological glitch with our system that we only found out about yesterday after our press conference and after the numbers were reported.”

“It has been rectified. We don’t expect it’s going to be happening again. It’s just that for whatever reason 87 cases from the City of Toronto weren’t uploaded.”

Elliott added that despite the error, the actual number of new cases reported by the province on Thursday was still “good.”

“We are still seeing a gradual, slow downturn but that’s exactly what we need to see in order to continue to open up our economy.” 

To date, there have been 3,722 health-care workers diagnosed with COVID-19.

The number of outbreaks in long-term care homes also jumped by nine to 263.

The single-day record for new cases was reported on April 25 when the number jumped by 640.

On Thursday, Premier Doug Ford announced that Ontario will enter stage one of the province’s recovery phase on May 19. A number of businesses that were forced to close in March will be allowed to reopen, with strict guidelines in place to enforce physical distancing restrictions. 

COVID-19 testing in Ontario

To date, Ontario has completed 510,841 tests for COVID-19. On Thursday, the province completed 18,534 tests.

Currently, 14,373 test samples remain under investigation in Ontario.

Quick facts on all Ontario COVID-19 patients:

• 42.1 per cent of all patients in the province are male and 57.2 per cent are female.
• 2.7 per cent of all patients are 19 years of age or younger.
• 24 per cent of all patients are between the ages of 20 and 39.
• 30.5 per cent of all patients are between the ages of 40 and 59.
• 21.3 per cent of all patients are between the ages of 60 and 79.
• 21.4 per cent of all patients are 80 years of age or older.
• Public health units in the Greater Toronto Area account for 62.6 per cent of all cases.
• 6.8 per cent of all patients had travelled history prior to becoming ill.
• 23.2 per cent of all patients had contact with a previously confirmed case.
• 36.0 per cent of all patients had community exposure.