The daily number of COVID-19 cases is up again in Ontario, with 704 reported yesterday.
The four hotspots were, again, responsible for the majority of new diagnoses.
The increase comes despite a drop in the number of test results completed yesterday.
Four more deaths were also reported.
Seventy-four of those new cases were in Ontario schools, bringing the total number so far to 13-hundred and 12.
There are now 482 schools in the province with at least one COVID-19 diagnosis, about ten percent of the publicly-funded schools in Ontario.
Locally, the Algoma Health Unit is reporting Case #40 in the Sault Ste. Marie area.
The cause is attributed to community spread and the individual is self-isolating.
Halloween – no in the hot zone – suggestions for elsewhere
Premier Doug Ford says he doesn’t want to be the bad guy, but there shouldn’t be any trick-or-treating this Halloween in the province’s four hotspots.
Ford says, with infections on the rise in Toronto, Peel Region, Ottawa, and York Region, we can’t have hundreds of kids showing up at peoples’ doors, especially in apartment blocks.
For children living outside the hotspot, the province’s chief medical officer of health recommends outdoor trick-or-treating only and only with immediate family members.
Doctor David Williams says children, and those handing out treats, should be wearing face masks.
Homeowners are also being asked not to leave treats in a bowl for children to select….and use tongs or a similar device to pass out the candy.