Ontario records 421 new cases of COVID-19 and 39 more deaths

Dr. Sharkawy urges more restrictions as cases rise Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Abdu Sharkawy discusses new measures governments should take to curb the spread of COVID-19.

TORONTO — Ontario health officials have confirmed 421 new cases of COVID-19 and 39 more deaths.

The new patients reported Friday bring the total number of novel coronavirus cases in Ontario to 16,608, including 1,121 deaths and 10,825 recoveries.

The province has seen a lot of ups and downs when it comes to the new COVID-19 cases reported this week.

Following a record high of 640 patients last Friday, officials noted a downward trend over the next three days. A slight uptick was logged the following day with 525 cases before the number dipped to the lowest number of cases recorded in three weeks.

On Thursday, health officials confirmed 459 new cases of COVID-19, as well as a new single-day high of deceased patients, bringing the death toll to more than 1,000.

DAILY BREAKDOWN: The spread of COVID-19 in Ontario

According to Friday’s epidemiological summary, of all deceased patients in Ontario, seven were between the ages of 20 and 39. Forty-nine people between the ages of 40 and 59 have died and 291 deceased were between the ages of 60 and 79.

Ontario’s seniors continue to be the hardest hit by the virus. At least 774 people 80 years of age or older have died to date.

The province is also reporting 198 outbreaks in long-term care homes.

According to data submitted through the integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS), at least 541 long-term care residents have died during the pandemic.

There has been an ongoing discrepancy between the data submitted by public health agencies through iPHIS and the information obtained by the Ministry of Long-Term Care. The ministry is reporting 861 deaths in the Ontario facilities and 166 outbreaks.

Of the more than 16,000 COVID-19 lab-confirmed cases reported in Ontario, health officials say about 11.7 per cent have been hospitalized at some point.

There are 1,017 people in hospital as of Friday, marking the first time the number of single-day hospitalized COVID-19 patients has exceeded 1,000.

Of those patients, 225 are in the intensive care unit. About 175 of those ICU patients are using a ventilator.

More than 2,400 health-care workers have been diagnosed with the virus.

Quick facts on all Ontario COVID-19 patients:

• 41.6 per cent of all patients in the province are male and 57.3 per cent are female – 153 cases did not specify male or female gender

• 44.7 per cent of all patients are 60 years of age or older – eight cases did not specify their age

• 2.3 per cent of all patients are 19 years of age or younger

• 22.8 per cent of all patients are between the ages of 20 and 39

• 30.1 per cent of all patients are between the ages of 40 and 59

• 22.1 per cent of all patients are between the ages of 60 and 79

• 22.6 per cent of all patients are 80 years of age or older

• Public health units in the Greater Toronto Area account for 59.5 per cent of all cases

• 14.6 per cent off all patients are health-care workers

• 7.2 per cent of all patients had travelled in the 14 days prior to becoming ill

• 20.5 per cent of all patients had contact with a previously confirmed case

• 35.5 per cent of all patients had community exposure

• 36.8 per cent of all patients had exposure information listed as pending

COVID-19 testing in Ontario

In total, the province has conducted more than 294,000 tests for the novel coronavirus.

In the last 24 hours, officials conducted 16,532 tests, a significant increase from the approximately 13,000 tests conducted a day earlier.

The province’s goal was to reach 16,000 tests daily by May 6. Until Thursday, they had been unable to surpass the goal they had set for April 22, which was 12,500.

There are 11,975 test samples under investigation.