Ontario reports 1,708 new COVID-19 cases, 24 more deaths

Ontario reported another 1,708 cases of COVID-19 and 24 more deaths due to COVID-19 on Sunday. 

The new cases include 503 in Peel Region, 463 in Toronto and 185 in York Region. There are 1,443 more cases marked as resolved. 

The Ontario health ministry says another 53,959 tests were completed in the last 24 hours. Labs are reporting that 3.7 per cent of the tests processed are positive.

Public health officials said this week that they hope to build capacity in the system for up to 100,000 tests daily.

Other public health units that saw double-digit increases were:

• Ottawa: 79.
• Durham Region: 73.
• Waterloo: 63.
• Hamilton: 60.
• Windsor-Essex: 37.
• Halton: 31.
• Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph: 30.
• Simcoe Muskoka: 30.
• Niagara Region: 28.
• Middlesex-London: 20.
• Thunder Bay: 19.
• Southwestern: 17.
• Eastern Ontario: 10.
• Brant County: 10.

(Note: All of the figures used in this story are found on the Ontario health ministry's COVID-19 dashboard or in its daily epidemiologic summary. The number of cases for any region may differ from what is reported by the local public health unit because local units report figures at different times.)

The seven-day average for the number of new cases reported per day has reached a new high of 1,548, the highest it has been since the pandemic began. 

There are also 586 people in hospital, nine fewer than on Saturday. However, Saturday's hospitalization data saw an increase of 54 over a single day. Those hospitalizations are also nearly double what they were a month ago. 

There are 155 people in intensive care units as of Sunday and 99 of those individuals are on a ventilator, the same number as Saturday.

The number of deaths in Ontario since the pandemic began has reached 3,648. A total of 503 of those deaths occurred this month.

Of Sunday's deaths, one person was in his or her 50s, four people were in their 60s, three people were in their 70s and there were 10 people in their 80s and six in their 90s, respectively. 

11 infections linked to Vaughan sports centre

York Region Public Health says that 11 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been linked to indoor soccer games at a Vaughan sports centre in mid-November.

The public health region issued a notice on Sunday to alert the public about a cluster of confirmed cases that emerged after a group of 20 to 25 people played soccer at the TRIO Sportplex and Event Centre, 601 Cityview Blvd., on Nov. 11 and Nov. 15. 

"While the group wore masks during play, masks were not worn in the change rooms," the public notice said.

Everyone who played soccer over both days are considered high-risk and have been told to isolate for 14 days. 

York Region was moved to the province's red control zone on Nov. 16, which prohibits the playing or practising of team sports except for training. 

York Region continues enforcement blitz

Officials also continued an enforcement blitz at businesses to make sure they were following public health protocols for the province's "red" zones.

The rules limit indoor dining to 10 customers at a time with physical distancing in place. Gyms, meanwhile, can only have 10 patrons inside at once, while 25 people can attend outdoor classes.

Officers inspected 256 businesses on Sunday and issued tickets at 16, a news release said.

An L.A. Fitness location in East Gwillimbury, Ont., and the Trio Sportsplex in Vaughan, Ont., are among those facing charges.

Authorities have inspected 867 businesses since Friday, laid 32 charges and completed 1,151 "compliance education activities," the release said.

New regions moving into more restrictive zones Monday

On Friday, Ontario announced that five more regions would be moved into more restrictive zones on Monday at 12:01 a.m.

They include:

• Red-Control
  • Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.
• Orange-Restrict
  • Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit.
• Yellow-Protect
  • Hastings Prince Edward Public Health.
  • Lambton Public Health.
  • Northwestern Health Unit.