TORONTO -- Ontario has logged more than 1,300 new COVID-19 cases, breaking a new record.
Following a record-breaking day on Saturday with 1,132 new infections, provincial health officials logged 1,328 more novel coronavirus cases on Sunday.
There were 1,003 cases confirmed on Friday, 998 on Thursday and 987 on Wednesday. Prior to Saturday, the last record in Ontario was set on Tuesday when 1,050 cases were logged.
Ontario’s seven-day average for number of cases reported continues to climb and is now 1,063.
Sunday’s report brings the province’s total number of lab-confirmed cases to 84,153, including deaths and recoveries.
Thirteen new deaths linked to the disease were logged by provincial health officials on Sunday, bringing Ontario’s death toll to 3,233.
Health officials deemed 877 more cases to be resolved as of Sunday, bringing the number of recovered patients in the province to 71,815.
There are currently 9,105 active COVID-19 cases in Ontario.
In Ontario hospitals, there are 374 COVID-19 patients being treated. Data pertaining to the number of patients in the intensive care unit and the number of patients remaining on a ventilator was not released on Sunday.
“As we often observe on weekends, a number of hospitals (approximately 40) did not submit data to the Daily Bed Census for Nov. 6,” health officials wrote. “We anticipate the number of hospitalized patients may increase when reporting compliance increases.”
On Saturday, there were 88 Ontario patients in intensive care and 52 of those 88 remained on a ventilator.
Where are the new COVID-19 cases?
Of the new cases logged on Sunday, 434 are in Toronto, 385 are in Peel Region, 105 are in York Region, 71 are in Ottawa, 68 are in Hamilton, and 56 are in Durham Region.
The numbers logged in Toronto and Peel Region on Sunday are a record-high for the cities.
Most of the new infections logged on Sunday are in people between the ages of 20 and 39 with 471 new cases recorded in that age category. There were also 391 new infections found in people between the ages of 40 and 59 and 184 new infections in people 19 years of age or younger.
There were 170 new cases of the disease found in the age category of 60 to 79 on Sunday and 108 in people 80 years of age or older.
On Saturday, health measures began loosening in several COVID-19 hot spots as Ontario’s new color-coded tiered system took effect.
Peel Region is the only region to currently sit in the red zone, while York Region and Ottawa were labelled as orange. The red zone, among other things, means indoor dining is capped at 10 people and gyms are limited to 10 people inside. The orange level limits bars and restaurants to 50 people indoors, with no more than four seated together.
On top of the provincial measures, Peel Region’s top doctor issued stricter measures on Saturday.
“Ultimately, what we’re trying to do at this point in time is trying to turn the trajectory of what we’re seeing, which is not only an increase in cases but now an increase in hospitalizations and a hospital system that cannot accept more patients at this point in time,” Dr. Lawrence Loh said on Sunday morning.
Some of the stricter measures in the region include the closure of meeting and event spaces, including banquet halls. As well, only those from the same household will now be allowed to sit together at restaurants and bar and pre-registration at gyms and fitness centres will now be required. The measures will remain in effect until further notice.
Modified Stage 2 restrictions will remain in effect in Toronto until Nov. 14.
COVID-19 testing in Ontario
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in January, more than 5.3 million tests for the disease have been conducted.
Nearly 37,600 COVID-19 tests were completed in the last-recorded 24-hour period.
In Ontario, 35,776 tests currently remain under investigation.
The province’s daily testing target is 50,000.
