Ontario reports 700 new cases of COVID-19, passing previous daily record of 640 in April

Premier Doug Ford confirmed Ontario is in a “second wave” of COVID-19 after setting a daily record with 700 new cases on Monday, but has no plans to rush back into lockdowns despite calls for stronger measures from the Ontario Hospital Association and others.

“We don’t want to turn back a stage unless we absolutely have to,” Health Minister Christine Elliott said Monday as Ford told Ontarians the province’s fate will be determined by the precautions they take to limit the spread of the highly contagious virus.

“Our collective actions will decide if we face a wave or a tsunami,” he said, calling the 43 per cent surge in new infections from Sunday’s 491 “deeply concerning.” Just one month ago, on Aug. 28, there were 122 new cases confirmed.

But no new restrictions were announced Monday beyond the recent closure of strip clubs, ordering restaurants and bars to stop serving alcohol at 11 p.m. and close at midnight except for take-out-and delivery, and a reduction in the size of indoor and outdoor gatherings to 10 and 50 with physical distancing.

The previous high in new cases was 640 infections reported by the Ministry of Health on April 24, with 50 deaths. By contrast, there was one new death reported Monday. Daily deaths peaked at 86 on April 30.

Chief medical officer Dr. David Williams said it’s difficult to predict how bad the second wave will be, but “we have to assume it could be a lot worse” than the first wave, and advised Ontarians to “hunker down” to reverse the trend.

“People have gotten very casual,” he said, noting the 700 cases were “slightly” higher than expected because of a backlog of cases being cleared by labs that otherwise might have been reported on the weekend but still a “wake-up call.”

Toronto had 344 new cases — also a record — with 104 in Peel, 89 in Ottawa and 57 in York region. There were more than 41,000 tests processed on Sunday, about four times higher than the level of testing that was in place last April.

The Ontario Hospital Association urged Ford to put the GTA and Ottawa back into Stage 2, banning indoor dining and drinking at bars and restaurants, closing gyms and restricting the number of people at houses of worship and wedding celebrations to slow the spread and help keep schools open, as 36 new cases were reported in schools and a Scarborough elementary school was closed because of an outbreak.

“Without public health measures in place to limit opportunities for disease transmission, Ontario will soon see higher numbers of hospitalizations, admissions to intensive care units … and more deaths,” the association warned in a statement.

Williams acknowledged it takes a week or two for new cases to impact hospitalizations, and said the government’s next moves depend on where infections go from here. He noted some parts of the province are still seeing few or no new infections, making regional action and a “targeted” approach to future restrictions the most likely path.

He added there’s concern but no need to hit the “panic button” because about 1.5 per cent of people getting tests lately are positive for the virus, compared with a much higher 8.5 at the peak and a low of 0.4 per cent in the summer.

There were 128 patients in hospital for COVID-19, the ministry reported Monday, the highest in two months, with 29 in intensive care, the most since mid-August, and 17 patients on ventilators, an increase of one. Doctors have said hospitalizations have remained relatively low because the majority of people catching COVID-19 are under 40 and do not require as much care, although higher case loads will lead to more infections in older age groups.

Dr. Irfan Dhalla, an internal medicine specialist and vice-president of St. Michael’s Hospital, said he understands the government needs to digest Monday’s spike in numbers but tweeted, “It’s time for the government to lead.”

Green Leader Mike Schreiner echoed calls for “aggressive action” and said Ford should have taken more steps sooner to prevent the latest surge.

“The numbers are starting to get scary,” said Liberal Leader Stephen Del Duca.

Ford promised $52 million to recruit and train more nurses, personal support workers and other health-care staff to get ready for the fall and winter, including 800 nurses and 2,000 PSWs, many of whom will help residents in nursing homes and be given a $5,000 incentive for a six-month commitment. That is to forestall a repeat of staff shortages seen last winter and spring as nursing homes were hammered by the virus, killing more than 1,800 residents and eight staff.

Last week the government announced more than $1 billion in funding to expand testing and provide more contact tracing and management. Rapidly increasing case numbers make it more difficult for public health workers to track down people exposed to those confirmed to have COVID-19 and isolate them, stopping chains of transmission.

is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: