Ontario COVID-19-related deaths more than double from previous day

A paramedic pushes a gurney outside Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital on Saturday, March 28, 2020. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press)

TORONTO — Ontario recorded a spike in the number of deaths due to COVID-19 after days of relatively lower numbers.

On Thursday, Ontario health officials confirmed that 45 more people have died after contracting the novel coronavirus.

Since May 29, officials have reported no more than 19 deaths a day related to the disease. The increase on Thursday may have been due to a lag in reporting from local public health units.

Officials also reported 356 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of patients in the province to 29,403, including 2,357 deaths and 23,208 recoveries.

For the second straight day, the number of COVID-19 cases was, once again, in the 300s. On Monday and Tuesday, the province reported a spike with more than 400 cases recorded each day after a week of case numbers in the 300s.

According to Thursday’s epidemiological summary, 10 of Ontario's deceased COVID-19 patients were between the ages of 20 and 39. Ninety-three deceased patients in the province were between the ages of 40 and 59 and 620 people were between the ages of 60 and 79.

There have been no deaths recorded in people 19 years of age or younger. People 80 years of age or older continue to be the hardest hit age group with 1,634 deaths.

There are currently 776 patients in Ontario hospitals with COVID-19. Of those, 121 are in intensive care.

Province surpasses testing goal

The province has surpassed its 20,000 daily testing goal after days of falling short.

Health officials reported on Thursday that 20,822 people had been tested for the disease over the past 24 hours. This is only the second time the province has met its May testing goal of conducting at least 20,000 tests a day.

The number was a significant jump from the 15,244 number on Tuesday, and the 17,537 number on Wednesday.

In total, the province has conducted more than 786,323 tests for COVID-19. As of Thursday, 12,760 are pending.

Quick facts on all COVID-19 patients in Ontario: