Ontario jumps to 939 COVID-19 cases today; Ford expected to announce new restrictions for COVID hotspots

COVID-19 cases in Ontario plus Niagara Region 939 new COVID-19 cases in Ontario and 9 new cases in Niagara today.

Ontario reported 939 new COVID-19 cases today, close to a 200-case increase from yesterday,’s record higher of 797. The government will make a COVID-19 update later this afternoon, new restrictions expected according to several media sources.

The Niagara Region reported nine new cases for the third day in a row.

“Ontario is reporting 939 cases of #COVID19 as over 44,900 tests were completed. Locally, there are 336 new cases in Toronto, 150 in Peel and 126 in Ottawa. There are 724 more resolved cases,” said Health Minister Christine Elliott on Twitter this morning.

Public health units in Ontario also reporting higher cases numbers include the Halton Region, with 59 new cases, Hamilton with 40 new cases, Simcoe-Muskoka area with 28 cases, Durham Region with 32 new cases, and Middlesex-London with 24 new cases.

This large jump in cases has spurred talk of new COVID-19 restrictions in COVID hotspot areas. There is an emergency cabinet meeting taking place currently, with a public update expected at 1 p.m. Although not yet confirmed, several areas including Toronto, Peel, Ottawa and Hamilton are expected to go back into a variant of Stage 2. More news to come later today.

There were five new COVID deaths reported today in Ontario. There are no new deaths in the Niagara Region.

The region continues to report steady numbers since last week. Cases have remained below 20 since Sept. 27, with most numbers ranging from nine to 12 cases. Today is the third day in a row the region has reported case numbers under ten.

Ontario has now had 57,681 total cases, with 49,032 cases resolved. There have been 2,997 deaths. There are currently 225 206 cases in hospitals, with 47 in intensive care and 29 on ventilators.

Ontario continues to see a rise in COVID-19 cases in hospitals. Hospitalized cases increased by 19, but the number of those in intensive care and on ventilators remained the same.

Highest number of hospitalized cases reported since July

Throughout August and the beginning of September, hospitalized cases generally remained below 100. In the summer months, those numbers varied but tended to stay below 200. Today’s report has launched these numbers well above 200. This is the highest number the province has seen since July 1 when 209 hospitalized cases were reported.

The total number of confirmed cases in the Niagara Region is now at 1,174 with 998 resolved. Of those cases, there are 111 active cases and 10 active outbreaks. There have been 65 deaths in the region.

West Niagara COVID-19 active cases

Note: Population numbers in brackets are Niagara Info’ estimates against growth over 2016 census numbers.

Grimsby 1.7 per 10,000 people (population: 28,500 = 5 cases)
Lincoln 1.6 per 10,000 people (population: 24,500 = 4 cases)
Pelham 0.6 per 10,000 people (population: 17,500 = 1 cases)
Wainfleet 1.5 per 10,000 people (population: 6,500 = 1 cases)
West Lincoln 0.6 per 10,000 people (population: 14,500 = 1 cases)

Additional Niagara Region active COVID-19 cases

Fort Erie 1.2 per 10,000 people (population: ~33,000 = 4 cases)
Niagara Falls 4.0 per 10,000 people (population: ~90,000 = 36 cases)
NOTL 1.1 per 10,000 people (population: ~18,000 = 2 cases)
Port Colborne 2.1 per 10,000 people (population: ~19,000 = 4 case)
St. Catharines 2.9 per 10,000 people (population: ~133,000 = 39 cases)
Thorold 1.8 per 10,000 people (population: ~20,000 = 4 case)
Welland 1.1 per 10,000 people (population: ~55,000 = 6 cases)

Learn More:

COVID cases in Niagara schools
Will Halloween be cancelled by COVID-19?
Niagara Region’s COVID-19 stats
Ontario’s COVID-19 stats
Federal government’s COVID-19 tracker app