Ontario reports 712 new COVID-19 cases, nine new deaths

Ontario is reporting 712 new cases of COVID-19 and nine new deaths.

Five of the new deaths reported Friday are in residents of long-term care.

This comes as the Ontario Long-Term Care Association says it is concerned its homes are
not ready for the second wave of COVID-19.

Since the pandemic began, there have been 1,974 COVID-19 deaths in long-term care residents.

Toronto, Peel and Ottawa led in new cases, according to Minister of Health Christine Elliott.

Ontario is reporting 712 cases of #COVID19 as over 38,500 tests were completed. Locally, there are 213 new cases in Toronto, 135 in Peel, 108 in Ottawa and 62 in York Region. There are 713 more resolved cases.

— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) October 16, 2020

Meanwhile, the province added 713 cases to the resolved tally, just above the reported new cases.

The province says a total of 38,507 tests were completed, while the backlog of tests that remain under investigation is 37,155.

Hospitalizations across the province are at 261, up from 253 on Thursday.

Of those, 67 are in intensive care and 36 are on ventilators.

The province is reporting an additional 98 cases of COVID-19 in schools.

As of Friday, residents of long-term care homes in three regions where cases have been surging are not allowed to go out for social or personal reasons.

The new restrictions will apply to long-term care homes in Toronto, Peel Region and Ottawa, and will remain in place until further notice.