Ontario reports spike in new COVID-19 cases after one-day drop

TORONTO -- Ontario has recorded a single-day increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases.

Health officials confirmed 704 new infections on Monday. Ontario logged 658 new infections of the novel coronavirus on Sunday. 

Ontario also reported four new COVID-19-related deaths in the province, bringing the total number of fatalities to 3,050.

The total number of lab-confirmed infections in the province is now 65,075, including deaths and recoveries.

There were 607 more cases considered to be resolved by officials on Monday. The province now has a total of 55,978 recovered patients. Monday's test positivity rate was 2.2 per cent.

The record number of COVID-19 cases in Ontario reported in a single day was on Oct. 9 when 939 new infections were added.

The four COVID-19 hotspots in Ontario are responsible for the majority of new cases on Monday. There are 244 new cases in Toronto, 168 in Peel Region, 103 in York Region and 51 in Ottawa.

Other regions of in province reporting more than 10 new COVID-19 cases include Eastern Ontario Health Unit (13), Durham Region (16), Simcoe Muskoka (17), Hamilton (17), Halton (23), and Waterloo (14).

There are 252 people being treated for COVID-19 in Ontario hospitals. Of those patients, 69 are in the intensive care unit and 40 are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.

Ontario is reporting 704 cases of #COVID19 as nearly 31,900 tests were completed. Locally, there are 244 new cases in Toronto, 168 in Peel, 103 in York Region and 51 in Ottawa. There are 607 more resolved cases.

— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) October 19, 2020

Ontario reported a massive dip in the number of tests processed in the previous 24-hour period, with only 31,864 being completed. On Sunday, the province processed more than 40,000 tests. 

There are 16,303 tests that remain under investigation in the province. The province previously said it wanted to reach 50,000 tests per day by mid-October.

Meanwhile, Premier Doug Ford is set to make an announcement Monday afternoon to address the ongoing fight against COVID-19. 

Today, out of 626 LTC homes in Ontario:

There are 58 homes considered in outbreak with no resident cases in the home.

There are 28 homes with resident cases of which 18 have fewer than 5 cases each.

The total number of LTC homes considered in outbreak is 86.

— Merrilee Fullerton, MPP (@DrFullertonMPP) October 19, 2020

He will be joined at Queen's Park by President of the Treasury Board Peter Bethlenfalvy and the province's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams.

CTVNewsToronto.ca will stream the announcement live at 1 p.m.