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Ontario reports new record of 797 coronavirus cases, nearly 48.5K tests processed

Click to play video: 'Ontario’s top doctor recommending new restrictions'
Ontario’s top doctor recommending new restrictions
WATCH ABOVE: New restrictions to help curb the spread of COVID-19 may soon be on the way in Ontario. The province’s top doctor says he has made recommendations to Doug Ford’s cabinet, but he won’t say what they are. Travis Dhanraj reports. – Oct 8, 2020

Ontario is reporting 797 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday, a new provincial record of cases within a 24-hour period since the pandemic began.

According to Thursday’s provincial report, 265 new cases were recorded in Toronto, 182 in Ottawa, 134 in Peel Region, 78 in York Region and 33 in Halton Region.

All other public health units in Ontario reported 25 or fewer cases.

The total cumulative number of cases now stands at 56,742.

Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said the province processed nearly 48,500 tests in the last 24 hours — which is also a new provincial record for tests.

Elliott also said 57 per cent of the cases are people under the age of 40.

“This Thanksgiving, remember the safest way to celebrate is with those in your household and to gather with friends and family virtually. Please remember to continue to follow the public health measures that will help us to stop the spread,” she urged.

Roughly 1.6 per cent of Thursday’s tests were positive for coronavirus.

A total of 4,261,111 tests have been completed since the pandemic began. However, there is currently a backlog of 58,118 tests that need results.

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

  • 27,096 people are male — an increase of 406 cases.
  • 29,249 people are female — an increase of 393 cases.
  • 5,033 people are 19 and under — an increase of 126 cases.
  • 20,126 people are 20 to 39 — an increase of 331 cases.
  • 16,069 people are 40 to 59 — an increase of 225 cases.
  • 8,973 people are 60 to 79 — an increase of 90 cases.
  • 6,529 people are 80 and over — an increase of 22 cases.

The province notes that not all cases have a reported age or gender.

The province also notes that the number of cases publicly reported each day may not align with case counts reported by the local public health unit on a given day. Local public health units report when they were first notified of a case, which can be updated and changed as information becomes available.

The death toll in the province has risen to 2,992 as four more deaths were reported.

Meanwhile, 48,308 Ontarians have recovered from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, which is 85 per cent of known cases. Resolved cases increased by 695 from the previous day.

Ontario has 206 people hospitalized due to COVID-19 (up by 11 from the previous day), with 47 patients in an intensive care unit (up by five) and 29 patients in ICUs on a ventilator (up by one). All hospitalizations have increased over the last several weeks.

The newly reported numbers for Thursday’s report are valid as of 2 p.m. Wednesday for Toronto, Ottawa and Middlesex-London public health units, and 4 p.m. Wednesday for the rest of the province.

Ontario child care centres and schools

Meanwhile, government figures show there have been a total of 822 school-related COVID-19 cases in Ontario — 453 among students and 139 among staff (230 individuals were not identified). This is an increase of 100 more cases from the previous day.

In the last 14 days, the province indicates there are 352 cases reported among students and 95 cases among staff (164 individuals were not identified).

The COVID-19 cases are currently from 415 out of 4,828 schools in the province.

Two schools in Ontario are currently closed as a result of positive cases, the government indicated.

There have been a total of 216 confirmed cases within child care centres and homes — an increase of six more since the previous day.

Numbers for cases in schools and child care centres is updated weekdays only, at 10:30 a.m.

Ontario long-term care homes

According to the Ministry of Long-Term Care, there have been 1,879 deaths reported among residents and patients in long-term care homes across Ontario, which is an increase of three deaths from the previous day. Eight health-care workers and staff in long-term care homes have died.

There are 57 current outbreaks in homes, an increase of four.

The ministry also indicated there are currently 153 active cases among long-term care residents and 172 active cases among staff — down by one case and up by seven cases respectively in the last day.

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