Ontario is reporting 329 new cases of COVID-19, which represents a slight decrease from one day prior.

The lower number comes after back-to-back days with a rise in the number of new cases with 308 being reported on Monday and 361 being reported on Tuesday.

Speaking with reporters on Tuesday afternoon, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams said that the province is likely to continue to see a “day-to-day variation” in the number of new cases but he noted that we are now in “day seven or eight of a downward trend” and appear to be heading in the right direction.

Over the last week, the province has reported an average of 366 new cases of COVID-19 each day, though the number has been as low as 294 and as high as 477 during that time.

“Last week it (the number of new cases) followed somewhat of the same pattern. It jumped up to the upper 300s and lower 400s (after lower weekend numbers) so if this is our maximum it might be good news but we will have to wait to see what happens as the week goes by,” Williams said Tuesday.

More than 15,000 tests completed

The slight decline in new cases comes as the province ramps back up testing after a recent decline.

The province conducted a record 19,227 tests on May 7 but that number dropped steadily in recent days with Health Minister Christine Elliott blaming the lower turnaround on the challenges posed by moving test specimens to laboratories over the weekend.

The latest data suggests that 15,137 tests were completed on Tuesday, up from a recent low of 11,971 one day prior but still short of the provincial goal of 20,000 tests a day.

“I don’t believe in excuses. I believe in hitting the numbers. So we want to hit 20,000 (a day), we have everything we need, so we need to hit 20,000, that is the goal,” Premier Doug Ford said on Tuesday, noting that he remains confident in the province’s ability to reach the threshold. .

40 more deaths

While the number of new cases of COVID-19 plateaued on April 25 with a record 640 and appears to now be on the decline, the death toll from the virus continues to increase.

The latest data reveals that another 40 COVID-19 patients have died over the last 24 hours, bringing the total so far to 1,765.

Ontario's 34 local public health units reported 1,850 deaths as of Wednesday evening.

Encouragingly, the number of people in intensive care units does continue to trend downward after peaking at 264 in early April and now stands at 189 (down three).

Hospitalizations as a whole are also down seven from one day prior and now stand at 1,018.

Meanwhile, the number of outbreaks at long-term care facilities does appear to be rising amid a provincial directive to test all long-term care residents and staff by May 15.

There have now been a total of 256 outbreaks at Ontario’s 626 long-term care homes, including seven new outbreaks that were confirmed over the last 24 hours.

Those outbreaks have resulted in 2,982 confirmed cases among residents and 1,561 confirmed cases among staff, though Williams told reporters on Tuesday that transmission of the virus within those settings does appear to have peaked.

“It looks like, as was predicted, we will see the deaths peaking in either the second or third week of May, though I would say it is a bit premature to conclude that totally because the deaths will always follow after the cases peak,” he said.

The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario now stands at 21,236, including recoveries and deaths.

Other highlights from the data:

  • There are now 3,562 confirmed cases among health-care workers, accounting for nearly 17 per cent of all cases.
  • The total number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 since the outbreak began now stands at 2,694 (12.7 per cent of all cases).
  • Nearly three-quarters of all cases are now considered resolve (15,845).
  • Greater Toronto Area public health units now account for 62.4 per cent of all cases.
  • Only 6.9 per cent of all cases are now considered travel-related. Community transmission is believed to be the source in 36.3 per cent of cases, though the means of transmission remains pending in more than a third of all cases.
  • There have been 73 outbreaks at hospitals. Those outbreaks have involved 294 confirmed cases among residents and 319 confirmed cases among staff.