TORONTO -- Ontario is reporting more than 4,300 new cases of COVID-19 over the past two days.
The 4,301 new infections bring Ontario's COVID-19 case total to 169,411, including deaths and recoveries.
The province says that of the new cases logged 2,159 were recorded on Friday and 2,142 were recorded Saturday.
Health officials say 81 deaths related to the disease occurred in the last 48-hour period, pushing the province’s death toll to 4,359. At least 39 of those who died were residents of a long-term care facility.
As well, 4,150 more cases are now considered to be resolved by the Ministry of Health. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 145,173 people have fully recovered after contracting COVID-19.
Ontario logged a record 2,447 cases on Thursday and 2,408 on Wednesday.
The number of tests completed over the last two days was not made available by the province.
Saturday's report comes as Ontario enters a province-wide lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 and reduce the strain on hospitals. The lockdown forces the closure of most indoor businesses, with the exception of grocery stores and pharmacies.
READ MORE: Ontario-wide lockdown for COVID-19 now in effect
There are currently 755 patients in hospital with COVID-19, though the province says that at least 10 per cent of hospitals did not report patient data. Of those patients, 286 are currently being treated in intensive care and 187 are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.
COVID-19 modelling released by the province on Monday showed that Ontario is expected to surpass 300 patients in intensive care by the end of December.
The government has previously said that when there are more than 300 COVID-19 patients in the ICU, medical care not related to the disease becomes nearly impossible to handle.
Of the new cases recorded on Friday and Saturday, 1,157 are in Toronto, 729 are in Peel Region, 475 are in York Region, 266 are in Windsor-Essex County, and 213 are in Hamilton.
