Ontario reports 16,714 new COVID-19 cases, 16 more deaths

Hospitals grapple with COVID-19 spread Ontario hospitals are grappling with the soaring COVID-19 case counts as the virus spreads through the province at record speed.

Ontario health officials reported 16,714 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, as well as 16 more deaths due to the disease.

Today’s case count comes after officials reported a record-breaking number of 18,445 new cases on Saturday. Since Wednesday, the province has reported more than 10,000 cases each day.

Public Health Ontario published today’s data in its epidemiological report, where it also acknowledged that due to issues with the availability of testing, case counts are an underestimate of the true number of infections in Ontario.

The province adjusted its testing guidelines for the public this past week due to the scarcity of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which are now only be available for symptomatic high-risk individuals and those who work in the highest risk settings, as well as vulnerable populations.

The province recorded 16 new deaths on Sunday, bringing the total death tally in the province to 10,222.

Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott confirmed on Sunday that at least 1,117 people are currently in hospital due to COVID-19. She noted, however, that not all hospitals report their data on weekends so the number may be more.

The minister also noted on Twitter that 224 of those patients are in intensive care.

The province deemed 5,901 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Sunday, bringing Ontario's number of recovered patients up to 658,015

Today's report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 791,520, including deaths and recoveries.

WHERE ARE THE NEW COVID-19 CASES IN ONTARIO?

In the Greater Toronto Area, officials reported 3,736 new cases in Toronto, 2,182 new cases in Peel Region, 1,388 new cases in York Region, 781 new cases in Halton Region and 752 new cases in Durham Region.

Officials reported 1,082 new cases in Ottawa, 789 new cases in Hamilton, 576 new cases in Simcoe-Muskoka, 570 new cases in Waterloo region and 544 new cases in Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph area.

All other regions reported fewer than 500 new cases on Sunday.

According to the province’s epidemiology report, of the 16,714 new infections reported on Sunday, 1,704 cases were identified in children under the age of 12.

The province also recorded 1,707 cases in youth between the ages of 12 and 19 and another cases 6,788 in people between the ages of 20 and 39.

As well, officials found 4,687 cases in people between the ages of 40 and 59, 1,541 cases in people between the ages of 60 and 79 and 295 cases in people over the age of 80.

The Ontario government announced on Friday that it will no longer collect COVID-19 numbers from school boards and will no longer report the number of COVID-19 infections among students and staff starting next week.

The province reported 40 resident cases and 22 staff cases in long-term care settings across Ontario. It also noted that two of the 16 new death were long-term care residents.

Officials stated that at least 195 long-term care homes are currently dealing with an outbreak.