COVID-19: Ontario sets record in number of new cases, 111 of those in Peel

 

On Friday (Oct. 2) Ontario is reporting 732 new cases of COVID-19 -- the highest daily increase since the start of the pandemic.

The province is also reporting two new deaths associated with the virus, in addition to 74 deaths that occurred earlier this year that are only now just appearing due to a data review by Toronto Public Health, according to Health Minister Christine Elliott.

The total number of COVID-19 cases for the province is up to 52,980 and 2,927 deaths.

Nearly 40,100 tests were completed across the province on Thursday.

There are 323 new cases in Toronto, 141 in Ottawa and 111 in Peel. Other areas seeing an uptick in the number of new cases include Durham with 34 and York Region reporting 38.

Earlier this week, Halton Region reported a daily case count as high as 33 but three the following day. On Friday, the number was creeping up slightly with 11 new cases being reported.

The number of resolved cases in Ontario is up by 428, bringing the total to 44,850.

There are currently 167 people hospitalized due to the virus across the province, 38 are being treated in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and 21 require a ventilator.

Elliott said in a Tweet on Friday that 58 per cent of Friday's cases are in people under the age of 40.

The second highest daily increase in the number of new cases was earlier this week on Monday (Sept 29), when the province reported 700 new cases of the virus.

The province is also reporting 37 new COVID-19 cases related to schools, including at least 30 among students.

Those bring the number of schools with a reported case to 318 out of Ontario's 4,828 publicly-funded schools.

-- with a file and photo from the Canadian Press