TORONTO -- Ontario is reporting a dip in COVID-19 cases after four straight days of more than 1,800 new infections.

Health officials logged 1,677 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Sunday as well as 16 more deaths. The new infections mark a decrease from the 1,873 cases reported a day earlier.

There were 1,848 COVID-19 cases reported Friday, a record-breaking 1,983 on Thursday and 1,890 on Wednesday.

According to Sunday’s epidemiology report, the majority of new cases are in people under the age of 60. There were 586 cases in people between the ages of 20 and 39, while 471 infections were in people between the ages of 40 and 59.

There were 266 cases in people under the age of 19.

At the same time, those over the age of 80 continue to be hardest hit by the disease. Of the 16 deaths reported on Sunday, 10 were residents of long-term care homes.

Of the nearly 4,000 people who have died since the pandemic was declared in March, more than 2,700 were within that age group.

About 177 of those deaths occurred in the past week, the province said.

There are now more than 250 people being treated for COVID-19 in Ontario intensive care units (ICU), with at least 142 of those patients needing a ventilator to breath.

According to a report by Critical Care Services Ontario obtained by CP24, ICU admissions increased by 22 overnight, which is the highest single-day increase in admissions since the end of March.

The report also indicated there are two children in intensive care being treated for COVID-19 and one neonatal patient.

Dr. Michael Warner, the medical director of critical care at Michael Garron Hospital, said he believes Ontario is on a "concerning" trajectory.

"We will definitely reach 300 (ICU beds) by Christmas. With a five per cent (daily case) growth scenario, will we reach over 500 (ICU beds full) by the first week of January," he said. "That will cripple the healthcare system."

"We’re in major trouble and we need more significant public health restrictions to be able to keep the health-care system available for patients who need COVID care and those who need care for non-COVID-related illness."

When there is more than 150 COVID-19 patients in the ICU, the province has said that other care can be impacted. When that number exceeds 350 people, non-COVID-19 care becomes “impossible” to handle.

Where are the COVID-19 cases?

The majority of new infections are within the Greater Toronto Area, or the lockdown regions in the province. There were 456 COVID-19 cases in Toronto, 356 in Peel Region and 143 in York Region.

Other regions reporting more than 50 cases of COVID-19 include Ottawa (55), Durham (86), Windsor-Essex (72), Hamilton (90), Halton (62), Niagara (61), and Waterloo (61).

The province processed a little over 58,000 COVID-19 tests in the last 24 hours, which the government says brings the positivity rate for the disease 3.2 per cent.

There remains more than 51,000 COVID-19 tests under investigation.

The total number of lab-confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in Ontario now stands at 140,181, including 3,949 deaths and 120,028 recoveries.