Ontario reported 100 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday and five more deaths, bringing the provincial total to 667 active cases.
The province has also had 13 deaths and eight resolved cases.
One of the newly-reported deaths involved a man in his 80s who was patient at the St. Catharines hospital on Fourth Avenue. The man contracted the virus through close contact with someone who was ill.
Wednesday’s list said that at least five more people were hospitalized.
Hospitalizations include men and women in their 50s, 70s, 80s, — and the youngest, a woman in her 20s from Peel Region.
Ontario health officials said in an update Wednesday that 40 people total are hospitalized, with 17 in intensive care and 15 on ventilators.
The list includes a wide range of ages, but most notably many are males and females in their 20s or younger. Some had travel history or close contact listed as form of transmission or were listed as “pending.”
Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s Medical Officer of Health, was asked at the update about those who are still not practicing social distancing.
“I think it’s irresponsible and inappropriate for yourself, for your family and especially for the vulnerable populations here,” he said.
“Can we beat this? I think in Ontario we can beat this, but it won’t be without the full dedication of our citizens.”
Thirty-one cases listed did not have any information for ages, location, form of transmission or status.
The 100 new confirmed COVID-19 cases makes this the largest single-day jump Ontario has seen.
More than 35,000 people have been tested for the virus so far. Around 10,500 are under investigation awaiting results.
—With files from Jessica Patton