Ontario breaks single-day record once again with more than 18,000 new COVID-19 cases

Ontario health officials are reporting another record-breaking number of new COVID-19 cases as more than 18,000 infections are logged on Saturday.

Public Health Ontario, which released the data, confirmed 18,445 new cases of the novel coronavirus today, surpassing the previous record of 16,713 new COVID-19 infections reported on Friday.

Ontario's rolling seven-day average has soared to 12,495, up from 5,939 at this point last week.

The province noted on Saturday’s epidemiological report that due to changes in availability of testing, case counts are an underestimate of the true number of infections in Ontario.

Officials warned the data should be “interpreted with caution.”

The province adjusted its testing guidelines for the public this past week due to the scarcity of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests across the province.

PCR tests are now only be available for symptomatic high-risk individuals and those who work in the highest risk settings, as well as vulnerable populations.

Members of the general public with mild symptoms are being asked not to seek testing.

The province recorded 12 new deaths on Saturday, bringing the total death tally in the province to 10,206.

The province deemed 4,769 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Saturday, bringing Ontario's number of recovered patients up to 652,114.

Today's report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 774,806, including deaths and recoveries.

WHERE ARE THE NEW COVID-19 CASES IN ONTARIO?

In the Greater Toronto Area, officials reported 5,508 new cases in Toronto, 1,730 new cases in Peel Region, 1,711 new cases in York Region, 922 new cases in Durham Region and 854 new cases in Halton Region.

Officials reported 1,482 new cases in Ottawa, 1,032 new cases in Hamilton, 850 new cases in Simcoe-Muskoka, 600 new cases in Waterloo region and 562 new cases in Middlesex-London.

All other regions reported fewer than 500 new cases on Saturday.

According to the province’s epidemiology report, of the 18,445 new infections reported on Saturday, 2,504 cases were identified in children under the age of 12.

The province also recorded 1,903 cases in youth between the ages of 12 and 19 and another 7,502 cases in people between the ages of 20 and 39.

As well, officials found 5,169 cases in people between the ages of 40 and 59, 1,665 cases in people between the ages of 60 and 79 and 328 cases in people over the age of 80.

The Ontario government announced on Friday that it will no longer collect COVID-19 numbers from school boards and will no longer report the number of COVID-19 infections among students and staff starting next week.

The province reported 97 resident cases and 25 staff cases in long-term care settings across Ontario. Officials stated that at least 168 long-term care homes are dealing with an outbreak.