For those looking for a bright spot in the fight against COVID-19, new data from Canada’s largest province might provide something of a ray of light.
Or, at the very least, hope.
Health officials in Ontario said Sunday they had recorded fewer than 100 new daily cases of the virus for a full week.
That’s the first time that’s happened in several months,
Health minister Christine Elliott tweeted the good news.
It’s official: for a full week, Ontario has now reported fewer than 100 cases, with 79 cases of #COVID19 today, a 0.2% increase. There are 148 more resolved as the persistent decline in active cases continues. Yesterday, the province processed nearly 28,000 tests.
— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) August 9, 2020
The officials confirmed 79 additional cases of COVID-19 on Sunday after 70 new cases were logged on Saturday.
On July 29, the province recorded fewer than 100 new cases of the disease for the first time since the end of March.
After a three-day uptick, the case count has continued to fall below the 100 mark for the past seven straight days.
Health officials also reported on Sunday that two more people have died due to COVID-19 in Ontario.
The total number of lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario now stands at 40,046, including 2,786 deaths and 36,279 recoveries.
There are currently 55 patients infected with the disease in Ontario hospitals. Of those patients, 26 are being treated in the intensive care unit and 12 of those are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.
More than 2.4 million COVID-19 tests have been conducted in Ontario since the virus reached the province in late January.
And some more good news: the government announced Monday that The Windsor-Essex region will join the rest of Ontario in Stage 3 of the province’s reopening plan on Wednesday.
The Windsor-Essex region has been the site of major outbreaks among temporary foreign migrant workers on farms and in agribusinesses.
Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams, said he made the decision based on positive local trends, including lower transmission rates, a significant increase in testing and the local public health unit’s capacity to conduct rapid case and contact management.
Premier Doug Ford said the decision will allow more businesses to reopen and more people to return to work.
“As all of Ontario now enters into Stage 3, I ask everyone to remain on their guard and keep following the public health measures to protect the tremendous progress we’ve made and keep this deadly virus at bay,” the premier said in a statement.
With files from CBC News, The Canadian Press
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