TORONTO -- Ontario health officials say that 43 more people have died as a result of COVID-19, the most deaths reported by the province in a single-day, while confirming 483 new cases of the virus Tuesday morning.

There are currently 7,953 cases of COVID-19 in the province, including 334 deaths. Meanwhile, 3,568 people have recovered from the virus, including 211 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

According to Tuesday’s epidemiological summary, one deceased patient is between the age of 20 and 39. Another 20 patients who died were between the ages of 40 and 59, 103 deceased patients were between the ages of 60 and 79 and 183 patients who died were 80 years of age or older, an increase of 27 from the number reported on Monday.

Seniors’ residences and long-term care homes have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. As of Tuesday morning, the province says that there are currently 93 outbreaks at such facilities across Ontario, representing over 130 deaths. 

On Tuesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that the government would issue an emergency order to limit long-term care home staff to working in only one facility at a time, a move the leader of the opposition had been calling for.

“The reality is, despite our best efforts, we’re dealing with a wildfire at our long-term care homes right now," Ford said at a news conference on Tuesday.

The order is part of what the government is calling an “enhanced action plan” to fight COVID-19 at long-term care homes, which also includes reallocating resources from the health sector to homes that are experiencing a virus outbreak.

Ford also confirmed that Ontario public schools will remain closed beyond May 4.

This news comes as the Ontario legislature extended its state of emergency declaration in the province for another 28 days.

Meanwhile, as the number of those hospitalized for COVID-19 has increased by nine patients since Monday, there is a decrease in the number of those being treated in an intensive care unit.

There are currently 769 patients in hospital, 255 of which are in the ICU, down from 263 reported a day earlier. The number of those requiring a ventilator is also down to 199, from 203 on Monday.

So far, 12.5 per cent of all the cases reported have been hospitalized at one point.

Health officials also say that 857 of all reported cases are health care workers.

In terms of testing, the data shows that the province completed 4,852 COVID-19 tests in the last 24 hours. The province had previously said that it hopes to raise its daily output of tests to about 8,000 by April 15.

Since the outbreak began in late-January, the province has conducted 113,082 tests. As it stands, there are 2,107 cases under investigation.

The exposure information for almost half (45.4 per cent) of the cases reported is listed as pending, though Ontario health officials believe that 1,883 cases were the result of community transmission.

Another 1,306 cases developed through close contact with a confirmed case, 1,151 other cases came from traveling in the 14 days prior to becoming ill.

The province says that public health units in the Greater Toronto Area account for the majority of all cases at 54.4 per cent.

Quick facts on all COVID-19 patients in Ontario:

  • 55.2 per cent of all patients in the province are female and 44.1 per cent are male – 49 cases did not specify male or female gender
  • 2.3 per cent of all patients are 19 years of age or younger
  • 24 per cent of all patients are between the ages of 20 and 39
  • 33.6 per cent of all patients are between the ages of 40 and 59
  • 23.8 per cent of all patients are between the ages of 60 and 79
  • 16.2 per cent of all patients are 80 years of age or older