Ontario reports 4249 new cases of COVID 19, but 450 from past few days

#Ontario; #Covid19Increase; #TPH; #newModelling; #OntarioConsideringCurfew; #HospitalsOverwhelmed

Ontario/Canadian-Media: Ontario's reporting of 4,249 new cases of COVID-19 today also includes about 450 were attributable to a data upload delay from Toronto Public Health, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in his news conference today promising new modelling coming early next week.

Covid-19 pandemic. Image credit: Pixaby

"We're in a desperate situation, and when you see the modelling, you'll fall out of your chair," Ford said.

Of the new cases, 1,382 were reported in Toronto, 691 in Peel Region, 427 in York Region, 213 in Niagara Region and 184 in Windsor-Essex pushing the new seven-day average to 3,394, also a pandemic high for the province. 

While taking multiple questions today about the situation in the province's long-term care homes, where deaths continue to mount Ford said, 

"It's heartbreaking. It's frustrating as well, with the long-term care homes."

It was announced on Thursday by Education Minister Stephen Lecce that while elementary students in southern Ontario will not start in-class learning until at least Jan. 25, as test positivity rates for COVID-19 rise for adults and children alike. 

With the uncontrollable rise in the Covid 19 infections, Ontarians are considering curfew as one of the tools, said Dr. David Williams, Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health.

Pandemic circumstances are moving at "the pace of lightning," Ford had said Wednesday.

Officials in Ottawa are waiting to see what decision Ontario makes. 

Ottawa's medical officer of health, Dr. Vera Etches, adding discussions about methods to quickly lower case counts are important, Etches said, though "not necessarily the curfew."

In his news conference this morning, Ford warned hospitals around the province to prepare for a potential influx of patients in coming weeks.

Meanwhile, late Thursday, CBC News obtained a memo from the president and CEO of Ontario Health, Matthew Anderson, telling hospitals -- projected to have more than 500 patients with COVID-19 in intensive care units and more than 1,700 COVID-19 in other beds by Jan. 24 -- to prepare for transferring dozens and potentially hundreds of patients across and even out of regions.