TORONTO—Ontario is reporting 625 new cases of COVID-19 today and four new deaths related to the virus.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says 288 of the new cases are in Toronto, 97 are in Peel Region, 64 in Ottawa and 41 in York Region.
Elliott says 62 per cent of the new cases are among people under the age of 40, continuing a recent trend.
The latest figures come as Ontario released a prediction today that daily counts of COVID-19 could hit 1,000 new cases by the first half of October.
The projections say the province has seen an upward trajectory in COVID-19 in recent weeks, with cases currently doubling every 10 to 12 days.
Officials said the modelling doesn’t take into account new rules introduced by the government in recent days, such as closing strip clubs and limiting hours of operation for bars and restaurants.
The modelling also warns about the risks of increasing occupancy in hospital intensive care units. Normal hospital operations cannot be maintained if more than 350 patients are in ICUs across the province.
As of Wednesday, 30 people were being treated for COVID-19 in ICUs in different parts of Ontario.
In April, Ontario’s projections said the pandemic death toll could range from 3,000 and 15,000 people depending on the actions taken by government and members of the public.
The province’s current death toll stands at 2,848.
The Public Health Agency of Canada released its own latest modelling last week, predicting up to 9,300 deaths across the country by early October if the current trajectory of the epidemic continues.
