Ontario records highest number of daily COVID-19 cases since July

Test kits sit on a table as healthcare professional Kenzie Anderson prepares to take a sample at a United Memorial Medical Center COVID-19 testing site Friday, June 26, 2020. (The Canadian Press)

TORONTO — Ontario reported 169 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, marking the highest daily number of infections recorded since the end of July.

This also the 10th day in a row where health officials have confirmed more than 100 cases of the novel coronavirus in Ontario. The last time the case count dropped into the double digits was on Aug. 26 and before that it was on Aug. 20.

In a post to social media, Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said that in the last 24 hours, the province processed a little more than 28,600 COVID-19 tests.

“Locally, 28 of Ontario’s 34 public health units are reporting five or fewer cases, with 19 of them reporting no new cases,” Elliott said.

According to the province’s epidemiology report, more than half of Saturday’s new cases are located within the Greater Toronto Area.

Health officials confirmed that 46 of the COVID-19 cases were reported in Peel Region, 19 were in York Region and 42 were in Toronto.

Ottawa also confirmed another 30 COVID-19 patients.

The new cases come one day after Peel Region reported its highest single-day tally since early June with 72 new infections, a fact that has led to concern among both politicians and health experts.

Most of the new patients were between the ages of 20 and 39. Eighty-seven of the new infections were reported in people within that age group while 38 were between the ages of 40 and 59.

There were 29 cases reported in people under the age of 20 and 17 were over the age of 60.

As of Saturday morning, 58 people were being treated for COVID-19 in the hospital. Of those patients, 14 are in the intensive care unit and eight are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.

The province’s total number of lab-confirmed cases now stands at 43,003, including 2,811 deaths and 38,847 recoveries.

There were no new deaths reported on Saturday.

The province has conducted more than three million COVID-19 tests since the first patient was diagnosed in January. There are more than 23,300 tests under investigation.