Ontario is reporting its highest number of new cases of COVID-19 in a week, just as golf courses and marinas reopen.
The Ministry of Health says that there were 391 new cases of the virus confirmed on Friday, bringing the total so far to 22,313.
That is up from the 341 new cases confirmed on Thursday and represents the highest number the province has seen since May 9.
Over the last week the province has reported an average of 338 cases each day, though the number has fluctuated considerably. It’s been as low as 294 and as high as today’s 391 during that time.
“Over the last two weeks we have seen a decrease in the cases," Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams told reporters earlier this week. "Not that I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow it went up again. It seems to do that. It comes down and then goes up by a bit but each time it doesn't go up by as much as the week before. It just keeps downward trending."
The number of new cases of COVID-19 peaked at 640 on April 25 and has been trending downward since then, allowing Ontario to begin phase one of a three-phase recovery plan.
That plan involved the reopening of golf courses and marinas this morning and on Tuesday will allow for the reopening of all other retail stores with street-front entrances.
“We are moving forward in a really good way right now and we just want to keep the numbers going down,” Premier Doug Ford said at a press conference at Queen’s Park on Friday.
33 new deaths
While the latest data suggests a slight increases in new cases as the week went on, deaths remain lower than they have been in weeks.
There were another 33 deaths in COVID-19 patients reported over the last 24 hours. That is up from the 27 deaths that the province saw one-day prior but remains far off the 86 deaths the province saw on April 30.
It also marks the third straight day in which the number of deaths was under 40. The last time that happened was nearly a month ago (April 20-22).
Hospitalizations, meanwhile, remain relatively stable.
There are currently 975 COVID-19 patients in Ontario hospitals, including 180 in intensive care units.
The latter number represents an increase of one, though it has been trending down ever since a record 264 COVID-19 patients were in ICU units in early April.
The province conducted 17,768 individual tests on Friday, which is mostly unchanged from one day prior.
Other highlights from the data:
- There have now been 3,799 confirmed cases among healthcare workers, accounting for 17 per cent of all cases
- More than 17,000 of all cases are now considered resolved
- There have been 264 outbreaks in long-term care homes, 113 outbreaks in retirement homes and 77 outbreaks in hospitals
- The number of people who have been hospitalized with COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic now stands at 2,836 (12.7 per cent of all cases)
- Greater Toronto Area public health units account for 62.8 per cent of all cases
