Ontario records nearly 300 new COVID-19 cases, upward trend continues

New rules, fines coming for Ont. COVID-19 hotspots The premier saying severe fines could be issued for those not following public health guidelines in Toronto, Peel Region and Ottawa.

TORONTO — Ontario is reporting nearly 300 new COVID-19 cases as the seven-day trend continues to increase in the province.

Health officials logged 293 new infections on Thursday, which is a slight decrease from the 315 cases on Wednesday.

The seven-day rolling average has now increased to 260, up from 242 on Wednesday.

Ontario also reported three additional COVID-19-related on Thursday, bringing the total number of deaths to 2,825.

There are 85 new case of COVID-19 in Toronto, 63 in Peel Region and 39 in Ottawa. They are the province's three COVID-19 hotspots and also the target of the government's new scaled back social gathering limits.

The total number of lab-confirmed infections in the province now stands at 45,676, including 40,424 recoveries and deaths.

There are currently 53 people in the hospital being treated for the disease. Twenty-one of those patients are in the intensive care unit and 12 are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.

Of the new patients on Thursday, the majority are between the ages of 20 and 39, with 169 new cases reported.

There were 37 new cases in people under the age of 19. In the 40 to 59 age group, there were 66 new cases. There were 23 new cases in people above the age of 60.

There are now 2,427 active COVID-19 cases in Ontario, up 111 from Wednesday.

In a tweet published on Thursday, Health Minister Christine Elliott said that 35,000 tests were completed in the previous 24-hour period. There are currently 37,624 tests under investigation.