TORONTO -- Ontario health officials reported another 583 cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday as well as one more death.
The daily recorded number of COVID-19 infections has fluctuated over the last five days, moving back and forth between the 500s and 600s following a record 732 cases last Friday.
Wednesday’s new infections mark a slight increase from the 548 reported on Tuesday. Six hundred and fifteen cases were logged on Monday, 566 on Sunday and 654 on Saturday.
Ontario’s total number of lab-confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus now stands at 55,945, including 2,988 deaths and 47,613 recoveries.
At the same time, recoveries outpaced new infections for the first time since early September. The number of active cases in the province has decreased from 5,469 to 5,344
According to the province’s epidemiology report, about 60 per cent of new infections are in people under the age of 40. Another 141 COVID-19 cases were reported in those between the ages of 40 and 59, while 63 were reported in people between the ages of 60 and 79.
Thirty cases were recorded in people over the age of 80. However, this demographic remains the one hardest hit by the pandemic, with 2,055 lives lost as a result of the disease.
One death has been reported in a person under the age of 20 since the beginning of the pandemic, although it is not clear if the death was caused by the disease or other health issues.
Eleven deaths have been recorded in people between the ages of 20 and 39, 124 were between the ages of 40 and 59, and 797 were between the ages of 60 and 79.
There are 192 people being treated for COVID-19 in Ontario hospitals. Of those patients, 41 are in the intensive care unit and 26 are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.
Where are the new COVID-19 cases?
Most of the new infections continue to be found in Ontario’s COVID-19 hotspots.
Of the new cases, 173 were in Toronto, 121 in Ottawa, 75 in York Region and 70 in Peel Region.
Five other local public health units have reported more than 10 cases of the disease.
The new infections come as Toronto officials urge the province to continue to put forward more restrictions in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. The new rules would include putting an end to indoor dining and limiting capacity in gyms.
In response, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has said that he would need “hard, hard evidence” before ordering businesses to close again.
On Wednesday, Toronto Mayor John Tory said that a decision will be coming shortly at a municipal level on whether indoor dining will continue in the city.
COVID-19 testing in Ontario
In the last 24 hours, the province has conducted a little over 42,000 COVID-19 tests.
There are still more than 55,000 tests being processed.
On Tuesday, the province confirmed they have been sending COVID-19 tests to the United States for processing. The premier has previously acknowledged that the province has reached its limit when it comes to testing for COVID-19 during the second-wave of the disease.
