Ontario reports spike in daily new cases of COVID-19

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TORONTO — Ontario is reporting an increase in COVID-19 infections, with more than 800 new cases logged.

Health officials confirmed an additional 841 new infections on Thursday, marking a significant increase from the 790 new cases reported on Wednesday.

The province also logged nine more deaths related to the disease. This is the second day in a row where nine COVID-19-related deaths were reported by health officials.

At least four of the nine deaths logged on Thursday were among residents of long-term care homes, according to the province’s epidemiology report.

The new fatalities bring the total death toll to 3,077.

The majority of COVID-19 deaths in Ontario occurred in those over the age of 80 (2,104). Eight hundred and eighteen people between the ages of 60 and 70 have died after contracting the disease, while 128 of the deceased patients were between the ages of 40 and 59.

Only 11 people between the ages of 20 and 39 have died after contracting COVID-19.

At the same time, the majority of Thursday’s cases were logged in people between the ages of 20 and 60.

Health officials say that 565 of the COVID-19 infections were within that demographic.

The majority of Thursday’s cases were found in Ontario's four COVID-19 hot spots, which are currently in a modified Stage 2. There are 335 new cases in Toronto, 162 in Peel Region, 106 in York Region and 72 in Ottawa.

Other regions of in province reporting more than 10 new COVID-19 cases include Durham Region (29), Simcoe Muskoka (24), Hamilton (20), Halton (29), and Middlesex-London (10).

There are currently 270 people being treated for COVID-19 in Ontario hospitals. Seventy-four of those patients are in the intensive care unit while 48 are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.

The province has concluded more than 38,800 COVID-19 tests in the last 24 hours, which brings the positivity rate to 2.2 per cent.

There are more than 34,700 COVID-19 tests still under investigation.

The total number of lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 now stands at 67,527, including deaths and recoveries.

The highest number of COVID-19 cases in Ontario reported in a single day was on Oct. 9 when 939 new infections were added.