Ontario health has confirmed another 411 cases of COVID-19 (6.6 per cent increase) in the province this morning, which is the lowest daily increase since Tuesday (379).
The total number of confirmed cases in the province is now 6,648, including 253 deaths, 2,858 recoveries, and 691 current hospitalizations.
There have been another 31 deaths confirmed by the province today, which is the largest one-day increase in deaths connected to COVID-19 in Ontario.
There are now at least 257 patients in intensive care units with COVID-19 and, of those, 215 are on ventilators. There are 79 outbreaks reported at long-term care facilities in Ontario.
On March 28, there were 1,144 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario, by April 4 there were 3,630 (nearly triple over the previous week). This week cases increased by 3,020 (over 2,486 last week) to bring the provincial total to 6,648 cases.
There have been 96,321 COVID-19 tests completed and there are 1,517 tests still awaiting results. Last week the province announced a broadening of the qualifications for testing and promised more testing would occur.
The provincial data reported this morning is current as of yesterday at 4 p.m.
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit said Thursday there are 115 confirmed cases in Simcoe County and Muskoka. The health unit has said it will update the regional cases on its website today by 1 p.m.
Earlier today, the province of Ontario announced it was extending its emergency orders until April 23 - those emergency orders include prohibiting gatherings of more than five people, closure of public places and establishments, electricity pricing, closure of non-essential workplaces, price-gouging penalties, closure of outdoor recreational amenities, and restrictions on pick-up and delivery of cannabis.
The province also added new measures including the prohibition of camping on crown lands as of April 9. The province also stated it will be easier for municipalities to repurpose existing buildings and put up temporary structures to reduce the pressure on health care facilities and help shelters provide more space for sleeping while maintaining physical distancing.
The province will also allow hospitals to increase their capacity by using beds and services of retirement homes.
