Ontario reports record daily COVID-19 case count

Hospitalizations and ICU numbers are not growing as fast as previous record case counts

A record-breaking day on the COVID-19 front in Ontario.

The province reported 5,790 new cases on Thursday, shattering the old record of 4,812 infections reported on Apr. 16 during the third wave of the pandemic.

With 68,191 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the provincial positivity rate is a record 16 per cent, compared to 10.7 per cent the day before.

However, the rate of people being hospitalized with COVID-19 has not reached levels seen with previous record outbreaks.

The province said there are 440 people in hospital, up from 328 a week ago, and 169 in intensive care, compared to 165 last week at this time. Of those patients in ICU, 137 are unvaccinated.

The surge in cases comes as the more infectious Omicron variant spreads across Ontario, and is believed to account for 87 per cent of all new infections.

The province’s rolling seven-day average of new cases is 4,001, something not seen since April.

The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit reported 229 new infections, the largest single-day tally since the pandemic began, beating the old mark set on Wednesday at 197.

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