Ontario reported 721 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, despite a drop in the number of tests being processed daily across the province.
Ontario’s network of community, commercial and hospital labs processed just 32,200 tests on Tuesday, notably fewer than the number of tests completed daily as the province worked to clear a backlog that peaked at around 92,000. The testing backlog currently sits at 26,558.
The number of daily tests completed also falls far short of the province’s goal of processing 50,000 tests per day by mid-October.
According to a news release issued on Oct. 2, Ontario said it was taking “longer-term actions” to increase the province’s testing capacity so people could get their results faster.
The province also set a goal of processing 68,000 tests by mid-November.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, meanwhile, applauded the province’s testing efforts.
“We’re kicking everyone’s butt on testing,” he said. “We’re doing an incredible job.”
“We had a backlog, we were able to get through that hump.”
Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health Barbara Yaffe said the province’s seven-day positivity rate average sits at 2.2 per cent, a figure she calls “worrisome” and likely the result of fewer tests being completed.
On Wednesday, the positivity rate increased by 0.4 percent and now sits at three per cent.
“It also indicates that we see transmission in the community,” Yaffe said at a press conference Wednesday.
Ontario reports no new deaths
Health Minister Christine Elliott says Wednesday’s new cases include 270 in Toronto, 170 in Peel Region and 79 in York Region.
Tighter restrictions were imposed on Toronto and Peel Region as well as Ottawa on Friday in a bid to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Wednesday’s new cases bring Ontario’s provincial total to 61,413. Of those, 783 were marked resolved in today’s update. On Tuesday, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. David Williams, suggested the province’s COVID-19 cases may be “plateauing,” even with the seven-day average showing a steady increase. You can see those comments in the video below:
Dr. David Williams made the comments on Oct. 14, despite the 7-day average in new daily cases showing a steady increase. 0:51
Ontario’s official death toll remains unchanged from Tuesday and sits at 3,017.
The number of patients in Ontario hospitals with confirmed cases continues to rise and currently sits at 231.
Those requiring intensive care also increased, from 60 on Tuesday to 64 today, and the number on ventilators increased by one to 35.
The average daily number of new cases of the illness continued its steep climb and is now at 781.1.
Meanwhile, other Ontario public health units with double-digit increases include:
Hamilton: 41
Ottawa: 39
Waterloo Region: 23
Durham Region: 22
Halton Region: 21
Eastern Ontario: 20
Asked Wednesday if Ontario will consider imposing stricter measures in regions with increasing COVID-19 cases — notably Hamilton and York regions — Yaffe said that is something health officials will consider this week.
“The public health measures team is meeting again later this week and they will be considering the data for all of the health units in Ontario and whether any changes need to be made for any of them,” she said.
Someone walks past an empty storefront in Toronto on Oct. 13. Ontario is reporting 721 new cases on Wednesday, the majority of which are concentrated in Toronto, Peel Region and York Region. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
The bulk of the new cases reported Wednesday are among those under the age of 60.
All of the figures used in this story are found in the Ministry of Health’s daily update, which includes data from up until 4 p.m. the previous day. The number of cases for any particular region on a given day may differ from what is reported by the local public health unit, which often avoid lag times in the provincial system.
WATCH | Ford speaks about business closures in COVID-19 hot spots:
When asked Wednesday why certain businesses in hot spots have been forced to close, including gyms, Ford said COVID-19 has created a ‘lousy, lousy situation.’ 0:44
Outings on hold at long-term care homes in hot spots
Wednesday’s numbers come as the provincial government announces new restrictions at long-term care homes in three of the province’s hot spots.
As of Oct. 16, short-term and temporary absences for social or personal reasons will not be allowed at long-term care homes in Toronto, Ottawa and Peel Region.
On Sept. 29, Premier Doug Ford announced new changes to visiting rules that would take effect in long-term care in areas with high community spread of COVID-19. (Carlos Osorio/The Canadian Press)
This comes after new restrictions took effect on Oct. 5, limiting visitors at long-term care homes in these areas staff, essential visitors and essential caregivers only.
“We recognize these changes may be difficult for the residents and families affected,” Dr. Merrilee Fullerton, minister of long-term care, said in a statement Wednesday.
“But our priority has to be the safety and well-being of the residents and staff in Ontario’s long-term care homes.”
A full list of impacted long-term care homes can be found here.
Ontario to decide which long-term care homes will receive assistance
The province is also in the works to decide which of Ontario’s long-term care homes will receive assistance from the Canadian Red Cross amid the second wave of the pandemic.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Long-Term Care said Tuesday the province will be finalizing details of the deployment over the coming days.
On Sunday, the federal government announced it had approved a request from Ontario to send the Red Cross to seven long-term care facilities in Ottawa.
As of Tuesday evening, CBC News estimates that there were active COVID-19 outbreaks in more than 120 long-term care homes in Canada’s hardest-hit provinces alone: Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia.
At Wednesday’s press conference, Elliott said the province continues to remain “vigilant” in testing at long-term case homes across the province.
Ontario to hire hundreds more contact tracers
Meanwhile, health officials say they are continuing to recruit new contact tracers and case managers to track the spread of COVID-19.
The province has hired 100 new contact tracers, with 500 additional recruits expected to be hired by mid-November. Those new hires should bring Ontario’s total to just under 4,000.
“With these additional hires, we will have hundreds more boots on the ground to support contact tracing throughout the province, which is an essential weapon in our fight against COVID-19,” Ford said in a statement Wednesday.
Health officials also continue to urge residents of Ontario to download the COVID Alert contact notification that can tell them whether they have been near someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 over the previous two weeks.
Elliott said more than four million Canadians have downloaded the app.
Nearly 1,000 Ontarians with confirmed COVID-19 cases have used the app to send anonymous alerts to their close contacts, Elliott added.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd overall, helping the Los Angeles Kings beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night.
Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored. The Kings have won two of their last three.
Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators. They are 1-2-1 in their last four.
Kopitar opened the scoring with 6:36 remaining in the opening period. Saros denied the Kings captain’s first shot, but Kopitar collected the rebound below the goal line and banked it off the netminder’s skate.
Fiala, a former Predator, made it 2-0 35 seconds into the third.
The Kings held Nashville to just three third-period shots on goal, the first coming with 3:55 remaining and Saros pulled for an extra attacker.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:
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DEVILS 3 OILERS 0
EDMONTON, Alta. (AP) — Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his NHL career, helping the New Jersey Devils close their western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored. The Devils improved to 8-5-2. They have won three of their last four after a four-game skid.
Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers had won two straight.
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