Ontario records more than 800 new COVID-19 cases, positivity rate rises above 3 per cent

TORONTO -- Ontario is reporting more than 800 new COVID-19 cases but testing numbers in the province remain low.

Health officials reported 827 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, which is a slight decrease from the 851 cases reported on Monday. 

The majority of cases were found in Ontario's four COVID-19 hotspots, which are currently in a modified Stage 2. There are 355 new cases in Toronto, 169 in Peel Region, 89 in York Region and 58 in Ottawa.

Ontario also reported four new COVID-19-related deaths in the province, bringing the total number of fatalities to 3,103.

The total number of lab-confirmed infections in the province is now 72,051, including deaths and recoveries.

There were 691 more cases considered to be resolved by officials on Tuesday. The province now has a total of 61,530 recovered patients.

The other regions in province reporting more than 10 new COVID-19 cases include Durham Region (44), Simcoe Muskoka (14), Windsor-Essex (16), Hamilton (14).

Halton Region, which faced the possibility of being forced to revert to a modified Stage 2 because of a rising case count, only reported 10 new infections on Tuesday.

There were 327 new cases in people between the ages of 20 to 39. In people between the ages of 40 to 59, there were 226 new infections.

The 19 and under age category recorded 125 new cases, while people over the age of 60 saw 149 new cases.

There are currently 312 patients in an Ontario hospital with COVID-19, which is an increase from 295 on Monday.

Of those patients, 75 are being treated in an intensive care unit, 72 of which are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.

Ontario is reporting 827 cases of #COVID19. Locally, there are 355 new cases in Toronto, 169 in Peel, 89 in York Region and 58 in Ottawa. There are 691 more resolved cases and over 23,900 tests completed.

— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) October 27, 2020

According to the provincial government, when there are fewer than 150 COVID-19 patients being treated in intensive care in Ontario hospitals, the province can "maintain non-COVID capacity and all scheduled surgeries."

Once that number rises above 150 it becomes harder to support non-COVID-19 needs, the government said. Once it exceeds 350 people, it becomes "impossible" to handle.

Testing numbers were low in the previous 24-hours, with fewer than 24,000 swabs completed. That makes Tuesday's positivity rate higher than 3.4 per cent.

Ontario has processed more than 4.9 million tests for the disease since the beginning of the pandemic. There are currently 22,636 tests under investigation.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Ministry of Health said that "it's important to remember that testing is demand driven."

"The number of 'tests completed' is typically lowest on Tuesdays," the minstry said. "(On Tuesday) the province is reporting what was processed on Monday, which is the result of what is collected on Sundays. Trends show that less people book an appointment to be tested on the weekends."