Ontario issued a new warning to construction companies to restrict the number of people on job sites to slow the spread of COVID-19, as the province recorded another 211 confirmed cases Sunday — and four more deaths.

It’s a jump of 18 per cent in new cases that includes a second worker at the Real Canadian Superstore in Oshawa and six Toronto firefighters.

The four additional fatalities pushed the death tally to 23, according to Ministry of Health statistics released Sunday evening. (In two of the deaths, COVID-19 has not yet been confirmed as the cause.)

Labour Minister Monte McNaughton called on employers in the construction industry — still considered essential and thus allowed to operate, even under the provincial state of emergency — to take steps to ensure there are “greater distances between workers by staggering shifts, restricting site numbers and limiting elevator usage.

“Keeping job sites open during the current pandemic requires a heightened focus on health and safety,” he said, echoing earlier warnings from Premier Doug Ford about regular cleaning and resupply of hand sanitizer at portable outhouses as well as frequently touched surfaces.

Loblaw, the Real Canadian Superstore’s parent company, said the Oshawa store on Gibb St. was closed temporarily for a thorough cleaning and has resumed operations. It’s the same outlet that employed Ontario’s youngest COVID-19 fatality, 48-year-old Keith Saunders, who died last week.

“With the community spread of COVID-19, it’s unfortunate but inevitable that some stores will be affected,” said Catherine Thomas, senior director of external communication for the company.

Third-party sanitization experts were brought in and the store “worked closely with local public health to ensure we reopen safely and that colleagues who may have been directly exposed are not in the store,” Thomas added.

As of Sunday evening Ontario had recorded 1,355 cases of the new coronavirus, including the 23 deaths — mostly vulnerable seniors — and eight cases that have been cleared since the outbreak began in late January.

The numbers are considerably higher than last weekend, when Ontario had just three deaths and 380 cases.

Across Canada, there have been at least 63 deaths and 5,866 cases, federal chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam told a news conference in Ottawa on Sunday. Almost 600 are recovered.

Montreal reported a surge of 146 new cases alone to 1,361 in the city alone, almost half the provincial total of 2,840. There have been 22 deaths in Quebec and travel restrictions have been imposed in several areas.

Tam served an early warning that Canadians will have to be flexible with upcoming religious celebrations such as Easter (in the middle of April) and Ramadan (beginning April 24), which “will need to be adapted” with physical distancing in place.

Mississauga Fire Chief Tim Beckett said the station where the affected firefighter worked has been closed temporarily and its territory covered by nearby firehouses.

“We’ve got extra decontamination processes,” he added, noting several firefighters who were in close contact are home in self-isolation.

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The union representing Toronto firefighters said Sunday on Twitter that six of its members have tested positive for COVID-19.

“The sixth positive test came in this morning. They were already under self-isolation (after) having contact with a previous positive-testing firefighter,” Toronto Professional Firefighters Association president Frank Ramagnano told the Star Sunday.

—With files from Osobe Waberi

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