Ontario has announced that the province has added 625 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, an increase of 71 from the previous day’s total, and just shy of the record-setting 700 new cases on Monday. Currently, there are a total of 51,710 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario reported to date.
Hospitalizations are also up across the province, and there were four reported deaths, which also represents an increase. Three of the deaths occurred in Ontario long-term care homes.
Ontario is reporting 625 cases of #COVID19 as nearly 35,800 tests were completed. Locally, there are 288 new cases in Toronto with 97 in Peel, 64 in Ottawa and 41 in York Region. 62% of today’s cases are in people under the age of 40. There are 457 more resolved cases today.
— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) September 30, 2020
According to the provincial epidemiologic summary, 294 of the new cases are in people aged 20-39, which is as many cases as all other age categories combined. There are also 457 resolved cases reported within the last day, an increase of more than 41 per cent.
The news comes as the province considers new restrictions including closing strip clubs as well as reducing bar and restaurant hours to stem the rise of the second wave of COVID-19. But, some experts suggest the moves thus far will not get the job done especially while schools remain open.
At the current Rt of 1.18, we will be at 1000 cases by mid-October and 2300 by Halloween. https://t.co/HcnLz7WJBN
— Ryan Imgrund (@imgrund) September 30, 2020
The number of tests has also dropped over the last few days, while the testing backlog has increased, another cause for concern.
The news of the second wave of COVID-19 comes at a time when the World Health Organization is warning that countries must get the pandemic numbers, and its associated seasonal illnesses such as the flu, under control before winter.
