Ontario reports 5,790 new cases of COVID-19 today, blowing past the previous one-day high of 4,812
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The London area set a new one-day record for COVID-19 cases on Thursday – and smashed the previous mark, set a day earlier – as the virus-related hospitalization rate in the city rose slightly.
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A day after the record-breaking 228 cases, the Middlesex-London Health Unit registered 263 new cases on Thursday, though public health officials warned they were struggling to track the virus as it spread through the community.
There are now 16,743 cases registered in London and the surrounding Middlesex County since the pandemic began in early 2020. There are 1,318 active cases.
There have been no COVID-related deaths this week. The local death toll for the pandemic is 257.
The London Health Sciences Center took care of 15 COVID patients on Thursday, two more than the day before. Six are in intensive care, five or fewer are in the children’s hospital and five or fewer are in acute pediatric treatment.
Across the province, a COVID caseload record was also set on Thursday with 5,790 new cases across Ontario – which blew past the pandemic’s previous one-day high of 4,812, set back in April.
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The province also registered seven new deaths associated with the virus.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says 440 people are in the hospital with COVID-19 across the province, including 136 who are fully vaccinated. She says 169 are on intensive care, of which 32 are fully vaccinated.
The new figures came when Canada’s chief medical officer said swift action was needed to slow the spread of Omicron.
Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said on Wednesday that there were more than 11,300 new infections nationwide the day before, up from the average of 5,000 cases a day last week. Tam said modeling projections show the number of cases could be “very high” in early January.
On Wednesday night, Prime Minister Francois Legault said the number of COVID-19 cases in Quebec increased “exponentially” and announced new restrictions, saying the province had seen 9,000 new COVID-19 cases that day.
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From Christmas Day 2, he said, private gatherings in the province will be limited to six people or two-family bubbles. Restaurants that are already running at half capacity and must close at 22.00, will also have to limit groups at tables to six people or two families.
“Until Saturday, we let people who absolutely want to gather, but I invite all Quebecers who can postpone their gatherings, to do so,” Legault said.
Several provinces have recently reintroduced stricter public health measures in response to Omicron, including ceilings for social gatherings and the closure of some businesses.
Meanwhile, a self-isolating Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pushing back on critics who say his government has fumbled the Omicron wave of COVID-19.
Trudeau told reporters Wednesday that they have worked flat out and learned a lot about COVID over the past two years. He added that the government was trying to slow down Omicron’s introduction to Canada by imposing border restrictions and test requirements.
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