Ontario reports 401 new cases of COVID-19, another 21 deaths

Chris Fox CP24.com

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A healthcare worker shows a package with items used for testing people for COVID-19. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Ontario has confirmed another 21 deaths from COVID-19, bringing the total number so far to 274.

The Ministry of Health has also confirmed another 401 new cases of the virus over the last 24 hours.

That number represents the lowest single day increase since April 7 when 379 new cases were reported and comes in the wake of Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health telling reporters on Saturday that the province appeared to be “bending the curve,” if not outright flattening it.

Hospitalizations, however, do continue to slowly tick upwards.

The latest data, which is only accurate as of 4 p.m. on Saturday, indicates that there were 47 more people hospitalized with the virus than one day prior, pushing the total to 738 Ontario-wide.

Of those patients, 261 are in intensive care units (up four from one day prior) and of those most seriously ill patients 196 of them are on ventilators (down 19 from one day prior).

Encouragingly, it does appear that the province is beginning to ramp up testing after an exasperated Premier Doug Ford told reporters last week that his patience had “run thin” with a rate of testing that had left Ontario last among Canadian provinces on a per capita basis.

This latest data indicates that the province conducted 6,844 tests over the last 24 hours, which is nearly double the 3,648 tests completed over the previous 24-hour period.

The rise in the backlog in tests waiting to be processed also appeared to level off after double digit increases were reported on most days last week. There are now 1,619 cases listed as under investigation compared to 1,517 one day prior.

The province has previously said that it intends to raise its output to about 8,000 daily tests by April 15, 12,500 daily tests by April 22 and 16,000 daily tests by May 6.

“We have the assessment sites ready, we have the testing capabilities right now, and we have the reagent. So there are no more excuses. We need to get it done, bottom line,” Ford said last week.

There are now 7,049 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the province, including recoveries and deaths.

Here are some of the other highlights from the data:

There are now 86 outbreaks at long-term care homes. Those outbreaks have claimed the lives of 114 residents.

There have been 777 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in healthcare workers, which represent 11 per cent of all cases.

Greater Toronto Area public health units now account for 53.5 per cent of all confirmed cases

Only 3.9 per cent of all cases result in death but that number jumps to 16.8 per cent in cases involving people aged 80 or older

Nearly half of all cases (3,121) are now considered to be resolved