`A sad day:' Ontario posts record high for daily COVID-19 infections

Ontario reported 3,519 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, a record high for infections registered in a 24-hour period.

The previous record for new daily cases was set just five days ago, when 3,363 infections were reported.

The province reported 89 additional deaths on Thursday, another grim record, surpassing even the days with the most deaths recorded during the first wave of COVID-19 in Ontario.

“You know, it's a sad day. Highest number of cases that we've ever reported. Highest number of deaths that we've ever reported,” said Dr. Dirk Huyer, Ontario's chief coroner and provincial outbreak response co-ordinator.

He sketched out a picture of a province in crisis: more than 10 new daily cases in two-thirds of the province's public health units; hospitals struggling with admissions and outbreaks, and the ability to provide care; overstretched public health units; an ongoing provincewide lockdown and schools that will not reopen as planned.

“All in all, many, many factors that point to how devastating this illness is and how all of us need to work together to take all of the proper steps in a way to reduce transmission,” said Huyer.

Public Health Ontario reported 164 cases in Ottawa on Thursday, nearly 100 more than the 68 cases reported Thursday afternoon on the Ottawa Public Health dashboard.

In a statement, OPH said the local and provincial COVID-19 data dashboards use different database systems that pull data at different times of day. A similar situation occurred last week, and eventually the local/provincial case total for Ottawa synced.

OPH received “a large number of case reports late Wednesday” that are reflected in the provincial case counts for Ottawa but not the OPH ones. It expects the discrepancy “to be adjusted in the days to come.”

Three new outbreaks of the virus were reported by OPH Thursday: One at the Redwoods Retirement Residence (there was no associated case count, which can happen when it's still being investigated or the only linked case(s) live outside Ottawa), one at École secondaire publique Louis-Riel involving two student cases and one in a community setting.