Ontario is once again reporting just over 100 new cases of COVID-19 as the number of tests surpassed 30,000 yesterday.
Provincial health officials confirmed 111 new infections today, the third time that exact number of new cases has been reported in the past four days.
Today’s disclosure brings the five-day rolling average of new cases down to 110.
After multiple weeks below the 200 mark, the province has not dipped below 100 new daily cases since the start of the pandemic in March.
The number of active cases also increased today, with new cases outpacing recoveries by 10.
Encouragingly, more than 31,000 tests were processed over the past 24 hours, bringing the case positivity rate down to 0.35 per cent.
"Locally, 28 of Ontario’s 34 public health units are reporting five or fewer cases, with 18 of them reporting no new cases,” Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott tweeted on Friday morning.
The highest numbers of new cases of the virus were reported in Toronto (38) and Windsor-Essex (21).
Peel Region saw a notable decline in new infections today with just three new cases, while Durham Region saw a slight uptick, reporting 11 new infections.
While the Greater Toronto Area remains in Stage 2 of the province’s reopening plan due to higher rates of infection, many parts of Ontario moved to Stage 3 today.
Several municipalities, including Barrie, are now permitted to reopen a number of additional businesses, including gyms and movie theatres.
Elliott cautioned regions to continue to be vigilant with following the advice of public health experts.
“Most of Ontario enters Stage 3 today. As we do, please continue to practice physical distancing and wear a face covering when doing so is a challenge, such as safely visiting a favourite local store,” she tweeted.
Nine more deaths reported
The total number of lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the province now stands at 37,274 with 33,162 of those cases considered to be resolved.
The highest proportion of new cases continues to be in people between the ages of 20 and 39 (53), meanwhile the vast majority of deaths have involved people over the age of 80 (1,887).
Nine more deaths were confirmed in the province Friday, bringing the total number of virus-related deaths to 2,746.
After steadily declining for several weeks, hospitalizations have remained relatively unchanged over the past week, with 108 infected patients currently receiving care in Ontario hospitals.
Thirty of those patients are in intensive care with 21 on a ventilator.
One new outbreak was confirmed in long-term care on Friday, bringing the total number of active outbreaks to 37.
The province says since the start of the pandemic, a total of 381 outbreaks have been reported at long-term care facilities.
New cases in the GTA:
Toronto: 38
Peel: 3
York: 7
Durham: 11
Halton: 2
