Ontario reports record 978 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday

Two weeks after several key areas of the province entered a modified Stage 2, Ontario reported an all-time single day high of 978 new cases of COVID-19.

The previous high was 939 back on October 9 – the day before restrictions on indoor dining, gyms and cinemas were ordered in Toronto, Peel and Ottawa to try and curb the spread of the virus.

Among those provincial hotspots, Toronto has 348 new cases, Peel Region is next with 170, and Ottawa with 89. York Region – which moved into a modified Stage 2 this past week – reported 141 new cases.

Durham region, which the province is considering adding to the modified Stage 2 list, saw a sharp increase in new cases to 51 from 38 the previous day.

Provincial officials say they processed 44,151 tests in the last 24 hour period, marking the highest total in a week. The backlog of cases sits at almost 31,000.

The positivity rate climbed to 2.2 per cent, up from 2.1 per cent from the previous day.

Another 625 people have recovered from the virus, but its the sixth consecutive day that the number of new cases has outpaced the number of people who have recovered.

The number of new deaths declined slightly with just six more reported Saturday, bringing the provincial total to 3,086

The province saw a spike in hospitalizations, which sits at just under 300 which is almost double the number since the end of September. Patients in the ICU also rose while the number of people on ventilators declined.