Ontario reports 258 new coronavirus cases, lowest number since late March

Ontario reported 258 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the provincial total to 21,494 cases.

Thursday’s report is the lowest number of new cases within a single-day since March 29 and is lower than Sunday’s report of 294 cases.

The death toll has risen to 1,798 as 33 more deaths were reported.

Meanwhile, 16,204 people have recovered from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, which is 75 per cent of cases.

The report marks an increase of 1.2 per cent in total cumulative cases, which is part of the downward trend the province is now seeing.

The province has completed 492,487 tests so far for the virus. This is up 17,429 from the previous day.

Ontario is expected to announce plans on Thursday on how the province will enter Stage 1 of economic recovery and reopening. The province released framework for a gradual reopening in three stages.

Ontario has 1,026 patients (up by eight) hospitalized due to COVID-19, with 184 patients in an intensive care unit (down by five) and 141 patients in ICUs on a ventilator (down by three).

According to the Ministry of Long-Term Care, there have been 1,308 deaths reported among residents and patients in long-term care homes across Ontario, which is up by 39 deaths, and there are 185 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.

Get weekly health news

Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday.

Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

The ministry also indicated there are 2,501 confirmed cases among long-term care residents and 1,668 cases among staff.

Health-care workers in Ontario account for 3,607 of the total reported cases, which is 16.8 per cent of the infected population.

2:06 Coronavirus outbreak: Ontario close to completing testing in long-term care homes

Greater Toronto Area public health units account for 62.4 per cent of all cases in the province.

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

• 9,037 people are male (42 per cent).
• 12,297 people are female (57.2 per cent).
• 592 people are 19 and under (2.8 per cent).
• 5,118 people are 20 to 39 (23.8 per cent).
• 6,548 people are 40 to 59 (30.5 per cent).
• 4,589 people are 60 to 79 (21.4 per cent).
• 4,632 people are 80 and over (21.6 per cent).

There are 17,578 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.