Ontario's COVID-19 death toll surpasses 5,000, more than 3,300 new cases logged

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TORONTO — More than 5,000 people have died after contracting COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, officials confirmed as they logged more than 3,000 cases for the eighth day in a row.

Health officials logged 3,338 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, marking a decrease from the record-breaking 3,945 infections the previous day.

There were 3,433 cases recorded on Saturday, 3,799 on Friday (not including an extra 450 cases added due to a backlog) and 3,519 on Thursday.

Officials also recorded 29 additional deaths related to the disease, bringing the COVID-19 death toll in Ontario to 5,012.

At least 14 of the deaths logged Monday were residents at long-term care homes.

Of the more than 5,000 people who have died after contracting COVID-19, at least 3,453 were over the age of 80. While seniors are hit hardest by the pandemic, the same demographic only accounts for about seven per cent of all lab-confirmed cases in the province while about 65 per cent of all cases are in people between the ages of 20 and 60.

At least 1,563 people are being treated for COVID-19 in Ontario hospitals, a new record for the province. According to a Critical Care Report obtained by CP24, at least 409 of those patients are being treated in the intensive care unit (ICU).

The province says there are at least 268 people in the ICU who require a ventilator to breath.

Officials have said that once the number of ICU patients with COVID-19 exceeds the 300 mark it becomes nearly impossible to provide care not related to the disease.

The total number of lab-confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in Ontario now stands at 219,120, including deaths and recoveries.

Where are the COVID-19 cases?

The majority of Monday’s cases continue to be found in the Greater Toronto Area, however multiple public health units across southern Ontario are also reporting relatively high numbers of infections.

There are 931 new cases in Toronto, 531 in Peel, 241 in York, 143 in Durham, 146 in Hamilton and 81 in Halton.

Niagara Region is reporting 168 new cases of COVID-19 while Waterloo has logged 165, Ottawa recorded 159 and Middlesex-London confirmed 141.

Other public health units reporting more than 50 new cases of the disease include Eastern Ontario Health Unit (69), Simcoe Muskoka (84), Lampton Public Health (90), Southwestern Public Health (81) and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (56).

"Locally, there are 931 new cases in Toronto, 531 in Peel, 241 in York Region, 168 in Niagara and 165 in Waterloo," Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott tweeted on Monday.

According to the Ministry of Health, 46,403 COVID-19 tests were processed in the last 24 hours, which they say brings the province’s positivity rate to about 7.7 per cent.

The new infections come as Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet meets to discuss new COVID-19 lockdown measures in an effort to curb the spread of the disease.

“We worked all weekend, basically all weekend until late hours last night. We will be going to cabinet with recommendations will make an announcement tomorrow,” the premier told reporters on Monday.

Government officials have also confirmed that new modelling data will be released on Tuesday. Last week, Ford hinted that Ontario residents will “fall off their chair” after hearing the news.

Senior government sources told CTV News Toronto that a curfew is not part of the new group of measures being presented to cabinet after public health officials discounted it.

The entire province has been under a lockdown order since Dec. 26.