The number of new COVID-19 diagnoses in Ontario dropped significantly yesterday.
Provincial health officials report 658 new infections, the first time that number has fallen below 700 in a week.
One of those cases reported this weekend was by Public Health Sudbury & Districts in the city of Sudbury.
The case is travel-related and the individual is self-isolating.
There are currently 247people being treated in hospital, 71 of them are in intensive care.
Five more deaths were reported, bringing the toll in Ontario to three-thousand and 46.
Four hot spots return to Stage Two
There are now four coronavirus hotspots in Ontario.
As of today, York Region joins Toronto, Peel Region, and Ottawa on the list of areas where modified Stage Two restrictions are now in place.
That means no indoor dining in restaurants and bars, and the closure of gyms and movie theatres.
The restrictions are in effect for at least four weeks.
York Region, like the other three, has been experiencing a sharp increase in the proportion of coronavirus tests that are coming back positive.
Hospital outbreaks in Toronto
Three more Toronto-area medical facilities are reporting COVID-19 outbreaks.
An outbreak is declared when there are two or more people who may have been infected in the facility itself.
St. Joseph’s Hospital is reporting seven cases where transmission likely happened within its walls, while Toronto Western has six staff members and three patients who likely picked up the virus within the hospital.
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health has also declared an outbreak after two patients tested positive.
A look at the numbers across Canada
Across the country, there have now been more than 198-thousand people infected by the coronavirus.
Yesterday saw more than 18-hundred new diagnoses in Canada, with Quebec having more than half.
It’s the third day in a row that Quebec has seen more than one-thousand new cases in a day.
Doctor Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, says all Canadians, not just those in virus hotspots, must participate in the collective effort to bring the numbers down by following protocols.
A look at the numbers around the globe
There have now been 40-million cases of COVID-19 diagnosed around the world, and the United States continues to lead the way, with eight-million, about 20 percent of the global total.
Only two American states have reported declines in the rate of new infections over the past week.
Connecticut and Florida led the way, seeing their new case numbers jump by 50 percent.
U-S health officials are blaming the higher levels of “coronavirus fatigue.”
They add the situation is being complicated by the arrival of cooler weather, which is shifting more activities indoors.