399 new coronavirus cases, 48 deaths in Ontario as total case number rises to 19,121

Ontario reported 399 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the provincial total to 19,121 cases.

The death toll has risen to 1,477, as 48 more deaths were reported.

Meanwhile, 13,569 people have recovered from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, which is 71 per cent of cases.

Thursday’s report marks an increase of 2.1 per cent in total cumulative cases, which is a low growth rate as part of the downward trend the province is now seeing.

The province has completed 380,854 tests so far for the virus. This is up 15,179 from the previous day. Ontario set out a target of 14,000 daily tests by the end of April and 16,000 tests by May 6, but Thursday’s report fell just short of hitting the May target.

Ontario has 1,033 patients (up by one) hospitalized due to COVID-19, with 220 patients in an intensive care unit (up by one) and 155 patients in ICUs on a ventilator (down by 19).

According to the Ministry of Long-Term Care, there have been 1,111 deaths reported among residents and patients in long-term care homes across Ontario, which is up by 37 deaths, and there are 174 outbreaks.

Ontario officials have said there may be a discrepancy between overall deaths and deaths at long-term care homes due to how the province’s health database system, called iPHIS, is tracking data and how the Ministry of Long-Term Care is tracking data.

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The ministry also indicated there are 2,831 confirmed cases among long-term care residents and 1,671 cases among staff.

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Health-care workers in Ontario account for 3,131 of the total reported cases, which is 16.4 per cent of the infected population.

Greater Toronto Area public health units account for 60.8 per cent of all cases in the province.

Here is a breakdown of Ontario cases by gender and age:

• 8,004 people are male (41.9 per cent)
• 10,954 people are female (57.3 per cent)
• 485 people are 19 and under (2.5 per cent)
• 4,478 people are 20 to 39 (23.4 per cent)
• 5,788 people are 40 to 59 (30.3 per cent)
• 4,176 people are 60 to 79 (21.8 per cent)
• 4,182 people are 80 and over (21.9 per cent)

There are 13,012 people currently under investigation awaiting test results.

The newly reported numbers are valid as of 2 p.m. Wednesday for Toronto and 4 p.m. for the rest of the province.