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Ontario reported 459 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the provincial total to 16,187 cases.

The death toll has risen to 1,082 as 86 more deaths were reported.

Thursday’s report marks the highest single-day increase in deaths for the province. Tuesday previously saw the highest increase with 59 deaths.

Meanwhile, 10,205 people have recovered from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, which is 63 per cent of cases.

On Monday, the Ontario government released a plan, with a series of stages, for gradually reopening the economy, which Premier Doug Ford called a “roadmap,” not a “calendar,” as it did not include any dates for the phases.

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The province has completed 277,522 tests so far for the virus. This is up 12,928 tests from the previous day. The Ontario government said it had a target of 14,000 daily tests by the end of April.

“They fell short just by 1,000,” Ford said at his daily briefing on Thursday. “Believe me I was all over it this morning, they absolutely promised it’s going to be over 14,000 tomorrow and moving forward.”

“But we don’t want to just stop at 14,000, we want to continue to expand these tests to our absolute maximum,” Ford continued.

“I’ll tell you one thing, I’m like a dog on a bone on this. I will not let go for a second, and every single day as I’ve been held accountable, we are all going to be held accountable and the health team as well.”

Ontario has 999 patients (up by 22) hospitalized due to COVID-19, with 233 patients in an intensive care unit (down by two) and 181 patients in ICUs on a ventilator (down by five).

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According to the Ministry of Long-Term Care, there have been 835 deaths reported among residents and patients in long-term care homes across Ontario, which is up by 60 deaths, and there are 163 outbreaks.

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The ministry also indicated there are 2,614 confirmed cases among long-term care residents and 1,430 cases among staff.

Ontario officials have said there may be a discrepancy between overall deaths and deaths at long-term care homes due to how the province’s health database system, called iPHIS, is tracking data and how the Ministry of Long-Term Care is tracking data.

Health-care workers in Ontario account for 2,292 of the total reported cases, which is 14.2 per cent of the infected population.

4:28 Coronavirus outbreak: Ontario health officials discuss recommendations on travelling to cottages Coronavirus outbreak: Ontario health officials discuss recommendations on travelling to cottages

Greater Toronto Area public health units account for 59.5 per cent of all cases in the province.

Here is a breakdown of Ontario cases by gender and age:

6,754 people are male (41.7 per cent)

9,280 people are female (57.3 per cent)

371 people are 19 and under (2.3 per cent)

3,693 people are 20 to 39 (22.8 per cent)

4,871 people are 40 to 59 (30.1 per cent)

3,581 people are 60 to 79 (22.1 per cent)

3,664 people are 80 and over (22.6 per cent)

There are 11,859 people currently under investigation awaiting test results.

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The newly reported numbers are valid as of 2 p.m. Wednesday for Toronto and 4 p.m. for the rest of the province.

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