37 dead, 426 new coronavirus cases as Ontario's numbers rise to 2392

The Province of Ontario confirms there are 426 new known cases of COVID-19, bringing the province’s total up to 2,392 as of Wednesday morning.

A total of 37 people have died from coronavirus, with 689 patients recovered and 3,135 under investigation.

The Greater Toronto Area public health units account for 56% of the cases. On Wednesday morning, the City of Toronto announced its physical distancing measures will be in place for up to 12 weeks.

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  • Toronto’s physical isolation measures to be in place for up to 12 more weeks to combat coronavirus

Of the 2,392 cases, 49.7% are male, 49.7% are female, with the median age being 50 years.

ontario.ca

Additionally, 23.7% had travelled in the 14 days prior to becoming ill, 10.6% had close contact with a confirmed case, 16.1% had neither and 49.5% have exposure information pending.

And, 11.3% of cases were hospitalized, and 37 deaths have been reported — though there is generally a reporting delay of deaths by public health units.

According to the province, a new breakdown of information, introduced Monday, provides more provincial and regional data on confirmed cases, demographics and trends of cases since the outbreak began including geography, exposure, and severity.

The daily summary is based on data reported by the 34 public health units across Ontario and recorded in the province’s integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS).

iPHIS is the Ministry of Health’s disease reporting system where data is regularly updated, where data for each day’s summary will be pulled from at 4 pm the previous day.

As the cases continue to rise, Ontario extended the state of emergency for another two weeks, including further measures to ensure physical distancing in public areas by closing all recreational facilities.