Ontario reports 258 new COVID-19 cases Thursday

Ontario is reporting 258 new COVID-19 cases Thursday and 33 more deaths.

The province has now recorded a total of 21,494 cases of the virus and 1,798 deaths.

Thursday’s new cases represent an increase of 1.2 per cent over Wednesday.

There are now 1,026 in hospital with COVID-19 and 184 people in intensive care units (ICU). Of those in the ICU, 141 are on a ventilator to assist with breathing.

There were 17,429 tests completed in the previous day and 17,578 still remain under investigation. The province has completed a total of 492,487 tests since Jun. 15.

Two more outbreaks have been declared at long-term care homes in the province, bringing the total to 254.

As of Wednesday, Niagara Region was reporting 563 confirmed cases, Halton Region had 532, and Hamilton had 500.