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Ontario reporting fewer new COVID cases, but four more deaths

Ontario is reporting 649 new cases of COVID 19. That’s 160 fewer new cases than the 809 reported on Saturday. There were 44,100 tests conducted. That’s 200 fewer tests than were conducted on Saturday.

The number of hospitalizations due to the virus and those in ICU and on ventilators remains the same as yesterday. There are 213 people in the hospital due to the virus, 48 of those in ICU and 29 on ventilators.

But there are four more deaths than were reported yesterday for a total of 3,004.  

There have been 58,490 cases of COVID-19 in the province. Some 49,732 have been resolved. Tomorrow’s numbers will be reported on Tuesday.

Toronto, Peel, Ottawa and York Region continue to be hotspots for the virus. The four areas account for more than 40,000 of the total number of cases.

In her daily update, Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott urged Ontarians to celebrate Thanksgiving with those in their immediate household. The province announced new emergency measures on Friday.

Canada’s chief public health officer Theresa Tam, meanwhile, reported yesterday that more than 2.5 per cent of new cases are testing positive.

She said in a statement released Saturday that the numbers being released this weekend are lower than the actual case numbers. That’s because some provinces and territories do not report numbers on weekends.

The statement also notes a shift in new cases from the 20-39 age group to older age groups.

Ontario’s patient ombudsman released a special report on Thursday calling for changes in the province’s handling of outbreaks in long-term care facilities.

It highlights problems in long-term care homes during the first wave of the virus. And sets out recommendations on how to deal with a second wave.

The province’s efforts to get a handle on outbreaks and deaths in the system at the height of the pandemic in March through June led to many patients and their families being “set adrift” and left to fend for themselves, according to the report.

The ombudsman’s recommendations include protections for whistleblowers.

The report was commissioned in June just days before outgoing patient ombudsman Paul Dubé was replaced by Cathy Fooks. A wider probe of the province’s handling of outbreaks in long-term care homes is expected to follow Thursday’s report.

To date, there have been 178,117 cases of COVID-19 in Canada, including 9,585 deaths. Labs across Canada are testing an average of 71,000 people daily.

@nowtoronto

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