An employee at a Longo’s supermarket in Woodbridge is one of the 135 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Ontario as the province’s death toll rose by three to 18.

The number of infections reported Friday increased almost 16 per cent to a total of 993 — double the level at the start of this week. That includes the 18 deaths and 8 cases that have been cleared.

Two residents of the Pinecrest nursing home in Bobcaygeon, where there has been an outbreak of the new coronavirus, and a York Region woman in her 80s, were the latest fatalities.

Deaths continue to be mostly in the “high-risk” category, the elderly and people with underlying medical conditions, said Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health.

There are now 60 Ontarians in hospital with COVID-19, with 32 of the 43 patients in intensive care on ventilators to assist with breathing. At least 30 health-care workers have been infected to date.

Nationally, there were 4,043 confirmed cases of the virus with 39 deaths, Deputy Public Health Officer Dr. Howard Njoo said in Ottawa.

Echoing repeated pleas from front-line doctors and nurses in Toronto and across the country, Njoo warned some hospitals are nearing “imminent shortages” of supplies including protective equipment for medical staff.

He said the federal public agency is working “day and night” to ensure doctors and nurses have what they need.

Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott insisted “we are procuring all the necessary supplies each and every day,” including 10,000 ventilators from auto parts suppliers who are shifting production as the province girds for a surge of patients with breathing difficulties.

The Longo’s employee marks the second positive test for the new coronavirus in two days at the company, which has also seen a driver at its Grocery Gateway service take ill.

Longo’s said it is working with public health authorities to alert fellow employees and keep customers informed.

“In an abundance of caution, an email has gone out to any guests who received a delivery from this driver in the past 14 days,” said Anthony Longo, head of the family-owned grocery chain.

Measures “above and beyond our already elevated sanitation and cleaning protocols” are in now in place and the store is helping public health investigators trace the employee’s “known points of contact and recent shifts,” he said.

Any employees who need to self-isolate will be asked to stay home and “will continue to be compensated,” Longo added. “Health authorities continue to reinforce that the risk of grocery shopping remains low.”

Williams urged shoppers to “keep your distance” from grocery workers and cashiers in particular to protect them from potential exposure to COVID-19 because they are deemed essential under the state of emergency.

“They’re the ones coming in day after day to make sure we can put food on our tables,” said Premier Doug Ford.

He called them “unsung heroes” and praised grocers for stepping up cleaning protocols, installing Plexiglas shields for cashiers and providing protective gloves to staff.

Ontario health officials said the 48-year-old man who worked at a Real Canadian Superstore in Oshawa and died Thursday in hospital did not have underlying medical conditions.

Ontario’s testing backlog was down almost 900 to 10,074 people awaiting results Friday as labs can now process about 3,500 samples a day, Williams said.

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To protect themselves, Njoo urged Canadians to stay within their “bubbles” — a new concept he described as a two-metre circle people should maintain around themselves. It doesn’t apply to anyone they live with.

Health experts expect the pandemic to last “many, many months” and it could involve a second wave of infections before orders to stay home and avoid others are lifted, Njoo added.

“Whatever your situation is, stay in your bubble. And please, don’t step outside of it, and don’t burst anyone else’s bubble.”