More than 70 per cent of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario reported since Jan. 15 have now recovered.
And though daily recoveries are sometimes surpassing daily cases, new cases continue to be added to the provincial total at a rate of about two per cent per day.
Today, Public Health Ontario is reporting 399 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 347 recoveries. The provincial agency has also reported 48 more deaths linked to the coronavirus.
The victims reported today include one person between the ages of 40-59, 12 people between the ages of 60 and 79, and 35 people aged 80 or over.
There are currently 1,033 people hospitalized with COVID-19, and of those 220 patients are in intensive care units and 155 are on ventilators.
Ontario has reported 19,121 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, and of those 13,569 people have recovered (71 per cent) and 1,477 people have died (7.7 per cent).
There were 15,179 tests completed on Tuesday according to today’s update, and there are another 13,012 tests awaiting results. There have been 380,854 tests processed in Ontario.
The Ministry of Long-Term care has confirmed 1,111 deaths of residents in long-term care homes, but of those, 681 are included in the total number of deaths reported by the province.
The ministry reports there are 174 long-term care facility outbreaks, 2,831 confirmed cases in residents, and 1,671 cases in staff.
About 16 per cent (3,131 people) of Ontario’s COVID-19 cases are health care workers. Whether they contracted the virus at work or in another way is not reported.
Public Health Ontario reports there have been 225 long-term care home outbreaks, 83 retirement home outbreaks, and 69 hospital outbreaks. Those totals are cumulative and do not reflect outbreaks since declared over.
Premier Doug Ford announced he spoke with cottage country mayors yesterday about the potential for seasonal homeowners travelling to their cottages this May long-weekend.
“We are still battling a terrible virus, so we are asking seasonal residents travelling to their cottages to practice the same public health measures as usual, including no public gatherings, avoiding non-essential travel as much as possible, and continue to practice social distancing,” said Ford in a statement. “Cottage country residents are known for their hospitality and normally they would be welcoming tourists with open arms right now. This year, however, they are asking visitors to help them fight the spread of COVID-19 and hold-off travelling to these regions until it is safe to do so.”
Ford noted there will be “plenty of long weekends to come.”
Locally, the Porcupine Health Unit confirmed one new case today.
There have now been 63 positive tests in the area since the start of the pandemic. Of those, 48 are resolved and four people have died. The health unit is following 11 known active cases.
In Northern Ontario, the Thunder Bay District Health Unit has the highest number of confirmed cases, with 78. The Porcupine Health Unit, which covers Timmins and the surrounding area, still has the highest rate of confirmed cases per 100,000 population among other health units in Northern Ontario. The rate there is 74.3 per 100,000 people.
According to today's report, which includes data from Jan. 15 to May 6, the number of cases at other Northern Ontario health units, as well as the rate of confirmed cases per 100,000 population are:
• Algoma Public Health - 13 cases, rate of 11.4 per 100,000 population (three new cases have since been reported, so there are now 16 cases)
• North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit - 17 cases, rate of 13.1 per 100,000 population
• Porcupine Health Unit - 62, rate of 74.3 per 100,000 population (a 63rd case was reported today)
• Public Health Sudbury and Districts - 57 cases, rate of 28.6 per 100,000 population
• Timiskaming Health Unit - 18 cases, rate of 55.1 per 100,000
• Thunder Bay District Health Unit - 78 cases, rate of 52 per 100,000 population
• Northwestern Health Unit - 15 cases, rate of 17.1 per 100,000 population
According to the report, in Northeastern Ontario, there have been 167 confirmed cases, and the rate is 29.9 per 100,000 population. In Northwestern Ontario, there have been 93 cases and a rate of 39.1. The provincial rate per 100,000 population is 128.6
