Ontario records 326 new COVID-19 cases as testing numbers fall below 20K once again

LIVE1 Digital Channel There are currently no events scheduled on LIVE1. Check back soon to watch live events from across Canada and the world!

TORONTO — Ontario has once again recorded more than 300 new cases of COVID-19 as the number of tests completed in a single day falls back below the provincial goal of 20,000.

Health officials confirmed another 326 cases of the novel coronavirus on Saturday, as well as 19 more deaths.

The new patients bring the total number of lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the province to 27,859, including 2,266 deaths and 21,810 recoveries.

On Saturday, the province had reported a record-breaking number of COVID-19 tests completed in a single day with 20,640 tests being done. Today, the testing number dropped to 17,014.

The number of COVID-19 tests conducted daily in Ontario had been increasing this past week, although officials had yet to reach their goal of 20,000 per day.

On Friday, the province conducted 18,525 tests. That same day, the province unveiled its new COVID-19 testing strategy, pledging a massive expansion in testing over the next few weeks.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is urging residents who are asymptomatic and who think they may have been exposed to the disease to contact an assessment centre to get tested.

In Ontario, to date, 718,341 tests have been completed for the novel coronavirus. Currently, 9,647 test samples are under investigation.

According to Saturday's epidemiological summary, eight of Ontario's deceased COVID-19 patients were between the ages of 20 and 39. Ninety-one of all deceased patients in the province were between the ages of 40 and 59 and 597 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 1,570 deaths.

There are currently 781 patients in Ontario hospitals with COVID-19. Of those, 118 are in intensive care.

Quick facts on all COVID-19 patients in Ontario: