Ontario reports highest new COVID-19 case count in five days

The Government of Ontario confirmed 1,138 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday morning, the highest count in five days.

There are also 1,094 resolved cases and 23 more virus-related deaths.

Today’s cases increased from Wednesday’s 1,054, Tuesday’s 975, Monday’s 1,058, and Sunday’s 1,087, but less than Saturday’s 1,228.

Of the newly announced cases, 339 are in Toronto, 204 are in Peel, and 106 are in York Region.

Health Minister Christine Elliott said nearly 66,400 tests were completed, and 621,960 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines have been administered.

Ontario is reporting 1,138 cases of #COVID19 and nearly 66,400 tests completed. Locally, there are 339 new cases in Toronto, 204 in Peel and 106 in York Region.

As of 8:00 p.m. yesterday, 621,960 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.

— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) February 25, 2021

On February 19, Premier Doug Ford announced that the Stay at Home orders would be extended for Toronto, Peel Region, and North Bay-Parry Sound until at least March 8. York Region moved into the Red-Control zone on February 22.

Toronto and Peel’s top doctors had previously asked the province to extend the orders due to the emerging COVID-19 variants.

Now, 31 regions have reverted to the updated colour-coded system.

Cases of the UK, South African, and Brazilian COVID-19 variants have been confirmed in Ontario.

Health officials have called the fast-spreading UK mutation a “significant threat,” and evidence is still emerging on how the vaccines work against the new variants.

To date, Ontario has seen 297,311 COVID-19 cases and 6,916 virus-related deaths.