Ontario has equaled a recent high for new cases of COVID-19 with the increase partly driven by an alarming uptick in infections in Peel Region.

The Ministry of Health says that there were 148 new cases of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus confirmed over the last 24 hours, including 72 in Peel Region.

It is the second time in a week that the province has reported 148 cases in a single 24-hour period. Previously, the number of new infections hadn’t been that high since July 24.

Meanwhile, the 72 new cases reported in Peel Region on Friday represents the highest single day tally in that region since June 4.

As recently as early August, Peel Region had seen its daily counts fall to the low teens but since then they have steadily increased and its rolling seven-day average of new cases now stands at 36.

Speaking with reporters during his regular COVID-19 briefing on Friday, Premier Doug Ford said that the rise in cases in Peel and more specifically Brampton is a real concern.

“I gave the mayor (Patrick Brown) three calls this morning and by the way it is no offence — Patrick is doing a great job — but I couldn't leave a voicemail. Patrick if you are listening I need to talk to you find out what is happening out there because I am really concerned,” he said. “When Brampton makes up three per cent of the population but 40 per cent of the cases yesterday that is concerning and I keep seeing this escalating.”

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown told CP24 on Friday afternoon that part of the recent uptick in cases in the region is partly attributed to an outbreak at a manufacturing facility in Mississauga that lead to 34 people testing positive.

He said that there has also been an increase in cases related to social gatherings and travel.

“I am a little bit worried about this weekend because it is the end of summer and I want to send a message to Peel Region and to the City of Brampton that this is not a weekend to have a party,” Brown warned. “We need people to continue to be diligent because this could come back.”

Brown said that as cases have increased in Brampton the positive rate has risen to eight per cent.

That, in turn, has led to concerns around a delay in processing tests.

“Mississauga is able to process up to 2,000 tests locally a day and by virtue of the fact that we have to send ours to Toronto the wait is almost eight times longer,” he said. “When you look at the current positive rate, the fact that some of those people are walking around not realizing that they have tested positive is a risk.”

More than 80 per cent of news cases are in GTA

Of the new cases, more than 80 per cent of them originated in the GTA (120 cases) while Ottawa accounted for another 13 cases. Every other public health unit in the province reported five or fewer cases with a dozen of them reporting no new cases at all.

The latest numbers come one day after Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams conceded that he was concerned by the steady uptick in infections in some locations.

Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health has also warned that this city is likely already in the midst of an “inevitable” second wave of infections.

“Unfortunately in much of the country we are starting to slowly inch up in the number of cases and it is not a good sign,” infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch told earlier CP24 on Friday. “It is only early September and we know it is going to be a long fall and a long winter.”

Seven-day average continues to creep up

In early August Ontario went an entire week without reporting more than 100 new infections in a single day but it has now surpassed that threshold for nine consecutive days.

The rolling-seven day average of new cases has also crept upwards and now stands at 130. It had dropped below 100 for several weeks in August and at one point was as low as 85.

If there is any good news to be found it could come in Ontario’s robust testing numbers, which remain tops in Canada even when adjusted for population.

On Thursday the province’s labs turned around 28,591 individual tests, pointing to a positive percentage that remains low at 0.51 per cent.

The number of hospitalizations as a result of the virus also remain well off the levels seen earlier in the pandemic when more than 1,000 COVID-19 patients were regularly receiving treatment.

On Thursday, 66 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, up from 60 one day prior. Of those people 13 were in intensive care units and nine of them were breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.

Other highlights from the data:

 

  • The new cases over the last 24 hours exceed the number of existing cases that were moved over to “recovered” in the database by 32. There are now 1,282 active cases across the province.
  • There were no new deaths reported on Friday and the province removed one previous death that had been connected to COVID-19 from its database. The death toll now stands at 2,811.
  • There were no new cases reported at any long-term care homes, retirement homes or hospital units over the last 24 hours.
  • Younger people tend to make up a disproportionate share of new cases. On Friday, 64 of the 148 new cases reported involved people in the 20 to 39 age group. There were again no new cases at all reported in the oldest age group (80 and up).
  • The total number of lab-confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic now stands at 42,834.