Province says number of people in hospital in Ontario has reached a new high of 2,065
Ontario reported 4,362 new COVID-19 cases and 34 more deaths on Saturday, as new restrictive measures came into effect in a bid to stem the exponential rise in cases.
The latest provincial modelling data projects that Ontario could see more than 10,000 new cases per day by late May.
Dr. Kali Barrett, a critical care physician who is also a member of the science advisory table secretariat, called the projections "unthinkable" and "catastrophic."
Saturday's cases are down from a record-high of 4,812 on Friday — a slight reprieve after three straight days of new peaks. However, the seven-day average continued to climb, reaching 4,370 on Saturday, a slight increase from 4,292 on Friday.
The latest figures include 1,162 in Toronto, 936 in Peel Region, 430 in York Region, 251 in Ottawa, and 301 in Durham, according to Health Minister Christine Elliott.
Elliott said 3,751,316 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Ontario as of 8 p.m. on Friday.
Hospitals continue to fill with COVID-19 patients
On Saturday, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said the federal government has approved a request from Ontario to extend the deployment of two mobile health units in the province until at least the end of June.
The military-style field hospitals are deployed at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto and Hamilton Health Sciences and will remain there until June 30.