Ontario reports 121 new COVID-19 cases Saturday, lowest in more than a week
CBC News | Posted: July 4, 2020 2:45 PM | Last Updated: July 4, 2020
Humber River Hospital says no COVID-19 patients in ICU
Ontario reported an additional 121 cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, the lowest daily case count in more than a week.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says 21 of the new cases are in Windsor-Essex, where temporary workers are being tested following outbreaks at farms.
Only five other public health units reported more than five new cases, largely in the GTA. Of the new cases, 27 were in Toronto, 23 were in Peel, and 20 were in York region. The Kingston area and Waterloo region each had six new reported cases.
In a tweet, Elliott said that 29 of the province's 34 public health units are confirming five or fewer cases, and 16 are reporting no new cases.
The province completed 21,425 tests the previous day. There are 14,594 tests are still waiting to be completed.
People under age 40 make up about 47 per cent of the new cases on Saturday. People over age 60 accounted for about 13 per cent, while those age 40 to 59 make up nearly 40 per cent.
Hospitalizations continue to decline. There are now 150 patients in Ontario hospitals with confirmed cases of COVID-19, 39 of whom are in intensive care. Of those patients, 26 are on a ventilator.
Ontario death toll climbs to 2,733
Saturday's numbers mark the lowest daily case count since June 26, when the province reported 111 new cases.
Saturday is also the fifth day in a row that the daily count was below 200.Ontario has now seen a total of 35,656 cases since the outbreak began in late January, of which about 87 per cent — or 31,083 cases — are resolved. There were 174 cases marked resolved yesterday.
The province's official death toll now stands at 2,687, with the province reporting five additional deaths on Saturday, all among long-term care residents. A CBC News count based on data provided directly from public health units puts the real death toll at 2,733.
"Having processed over 21,000 tests yesterday, our positivity rate remains at all time lows," Elliott said in a tweet Saturday morning.
No more COVID patients in Humber River hospital ICU
On Friday, Humber River Hospital in Toronto said its intensive care unit had no COVID-19 patients for the first day since March 14.
"Today is a day to celebrate," the hospital said on Twitter Friday.
The hospital previously was at its capacity of 18 to 20 patients in the ICU and had up to 80 COVID-19 patients in total, said Joe Gorman, Humber River's director of corporate communications.
There are still five COVID positive patients in the hospital, he said, which has 656 beds.
"We can't take our foot off the gas pedal," said Gorman, saying people must continue to wear a mask, wash hands and social distance.
"Because we're winning, but ... it could come back at any time."