Ontario records over 400 new COVID-19 cases but over half were impacted by reporting delay

TORONTO -- Ontario has recorded another day with more than 400 new COVID-19 cases but says over 200 infections were impacted by a reporting delay.

Health officials reported 415 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday but admitted that 223 of those cases were a result of a "laboratory-to-public health reporting delay."

This indicates that Ontario reported only 192 new cases in the past 24 hours period, which is the lowest number since March 28 when 151 new infections were recorded

The Ministry of Health told CTV News Toronto on Sunday that the delayed cases relate to a reporting error earlier this month.

Health officials said on June 2 after a "thorough investigation," it was discovered that COVID-19 test results from one provincial lab had not been reported to 12 local public health units where the cases reside.

The lab, Ontario Health confirmed, was used by the William Osler Health System and the majority of tests came from the drive-thru assessment centre at Etobicoke General Hospital.

Most of the cases involve residents of Toronto, Peel Region, and York Region.

Meanwhile, the province also recorded an additional 19 COVID-19-related deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities to 2,426.

To date, there are 30,617 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario. The number of resolved cases has reached 24,252 and now accounts for 79.2 per cent of all patients. 

Sunday's epidemiological summary shows that 1,688 people 80 years of age or older have died as a result of the novel coronavirus, the hardest hit age group since the start of the pandemic in mid-January. There have been 634 deaths in people between the ages of 60 and 79.

Ninety-four other deceased patients in the province were between the ages of 40 and 59 and 10 people were between the ages of 20 and 39.

There have been no deaths recorded in people 19 years of age or younger.

Public health units in the Greater Toronto Area account for 67.2 per cent of all cases.

There are currently 635 people in hospital. Of those 635 in hospital, 117 patients are being treated in an intensive care unit, 92 of which are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.

Testing in Ontario

In total, the province has conducted more than 851,532 tests for the novel coronavirus.

In the last 24-hour period to be recorded, officials conducted 19,374 tests. There are currently 6,669 tests under investigation.

Quick facts on all COVID-19 patients in Ontario:

• 44.6 per cent of all patients in the province are male and 54.5 per cent are female.
• 4 per cent of all patients are 19 years of age or younger.
• 27.2 per cent of all patients are between the ages of 20 and 39.
• 30.7 per cent of all patients are between the ages of 40 and 59.
• 19.8 per cent of all patients are between the ages of 60 and 79.
• 18.3 per cent of all patients are 80 years of age or older.
• 5.1 per cent of all patients had travelled in the 14 days prior to becoming ill.
• 62 per cent of all patients had close contact with a previously confirmed case or were "outbreak-associated."
• 21.3 per cent of all patients had “no known epidemiological link”
• 11.6 per cent of all patients had exposure information listed as "missing or unknown."