

Chris Fox, CP24.com





Ontario has confirmed 32 new cases of COVID-19, including 11 in Toronto.

The number is down from the 42 new cases that the province confirmed on Saturday but still represents the second biggest one-day leap since the numbers started being tracked in January.

Of the new cases 11 are in Toronto, five are in York Region, four are in Peel Region, one is in Durham Region and one is in Halton Region.

The data lists the means of transmission as “pending” with the exception of three cases - one woman in Sudbury who contracted the virus from a close contract and individuals in Wellington County and Halton Region who contracted the virus after visiting the U.S.

The total number of cases in the province is now 177, including five recoveries.

That’s up significantly from the 35 cases that had been confirmed as of last Monday.

Since then, the province has reported one day increases in the number of confirmed cases of three, five, 18, 19, 24, 42 and now 32.

Amid the rise in cases extraordinary measures have been taken, including the closure of schools and child care centres and the cancellation of virtually every event planned for the coming weeks.

Province adds 130 nurses to deal with influx of calls to Telehealth

The province has also announced that it will add more nurses to its telehealth services in response to the rising number of calls from residents reporting flu-like symptoms.

In a news release issued earlier on Monday, the province said that it will deploy approximately 130 additional nurses to “conduct symptom assessments and referrals among callers who request a callback.”

The province said that it also working with the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) to identify additional avenues of support for Telehealth from its 44,000 registered members.

“We understand that people are anxious to get the advice about next steps as soon as possible, which is why the capacity of Telehealth is being enhanced," Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams said in the release. "But unless you are experiencing severe symptoms or a medical emergency, the best place for you to stay is at home until you receive advice, which will often be to stay home and self-monitor."

It should be noted that the COVID-19 numbers for today could still rise when the provinces posts another update on confirmed cases at 5:30 p.m.

So far, the province has tested 10,178 people and is still awaiting the results for 1,537 of those tests.

The total number of confirmed cases Canada-wide is 375, though not all provinces have released their latest numbers for today.

Ontario has the most confirmed cases followed by British Columbia, which has 73 and Alberta which has 56.