Ontario reports highest number of new COVID-19 cases since July

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TORONTO — Ontario health officials are reporting the highest number of new COVID-19 cases since the end of July.

Health officials confirmed an additional 125 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, which is the highest number since July 31 when the province reported 134 new cases.

The jump in cases on Tuesday comes after daily case numbers fell below 100 for two straight days. The province also reported four new deaths related to COVID-19 after two straight days of no deaths.

The new infections bring the province’s total number of lab-confirmed infections to 40,870, including 37,126 recoveries and 2,793 deaths.

Of the new patients, the majority were between the ages of 20 and 39. Twenty-one new cases were reported in people under the age of 20, while 27 were recorded in those over the age of 60, a significant jump from the previous day when only 12 cases were recorded in that age group.

There are currently 41 people in the hospital being treated for the disease. Fifteen of those patients are in the intensive care unit and 10 are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.

Where are the new COVID-19 cases?

Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said that 27 of the province's 34 public health units have reported five or fewer new cases of the disease on Tuesday, with 16 of them reporting no new cases at all.

Elliott said the uptick in the total new case number is “largely due the result of localized increases.”

On Tuesday, Peel Region reported 17 new cases, Ottawa reported eight new cases, Toronto reported 27 new cases, Waterloo reported 12 new cases and Windsor-Essex reported 28 new cases.

All regions have now entered Stage 3 of the province’s reopening plan, which included the reopening of gyms, indoor dining at bars and restaurants and many facial services.

Testing for COVID-19 in Ontario

More than 2.6 million COVID-19 tests have been conducted in Ontario since the virus reached the province in late January.

In the last 24 hours, a little more than 23,000 tests were conducted.

As of 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, 16,128 test samples are still under investigation.