Ontario reports record-breaking COVID-19 numbers with 1,588 new cases

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The Government of Ontario confirmed 1,588 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, the highest daily count since the pandemic began.

The previous record was set with last Saturday’s 1,581.

This is an increase from Friday’s 1,418, Thursday’s 1,210, Wednesday’s 1,417, Tuesday’s 1,249, Monday’s 1,487, and Sunday’s 1,248. Daily cases have been consistently over 1,000 for over two weeks.

The province is also reporting 1,363 more resolved cases and 21 more deaths.

Of the newly announced cases, 522 are in Peel, 450 are in Toronto, and 153 in York Region.

According to Health Minister Christine Elliott, 46,700 tests were completed, a decrease from the 48,200 completed on Friday, but more than Thursday’s 41,800 and Wednesday’s 33,400. The province currently has the capacity to do 50,000 tests daily.

Ontario is reporting 1,588 cases of #COVID19. Locally, there are 522 new cases in Peel, 450 in Toronto and 153 in York Region. There are 1,363 more resolved cases and nearly 46,700 tests completed.

Today’s numbers will be available at 10:30 a.m. at https://t.co/ypmgZbVRvn.

— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) November 21, 2020

On Friday, Premier Doug Ford announced that Toronto and Peel Region would be placed under a lockdown beginning on November 23.

“Lockdown” is the highest level in the government’s COVID-19 response framework, and brings new public health measures to the regions.

Some of the new restrictions include that retail stores can only offer curbside pick-up or delivery, and restaurants can only be open for pick-up, drive-through, and delivery. No indoor gatherings will be allowed except with members of the same household, and outdoor gatherings are limited to 10 people.

Grocery stores, liquor stores, and pharmacies remain open with limited capacity.

To date, Ontario has seen 102,378 COVID-19 cases and 3,472 deaths.