211 new Ontario cases of COVID-19 reported Sunday, largest single-day increase; Peel confirms 33 new infections

These are not the numbers epidemiologists want to see.

Ontario reported its highest single-day count of new COVID-19 cases Sunday morning, with 211 confirmed infections for a total of 1,355 across the province to date. In Peel, 33 new cases confirmed Sunday brings the region’s total to 187.

COVID-19 cases in Peel as of Sunday

The Ontario figures include 21 deaths (two have not been confirmed) and 8 patients no longer infected.

Mississauga Fire Department Chief Tim Beckett confirmed a firefighter has tested positive for COVID-19, and that all other employees who might have come in contact with the individual are now self isolating. Though enhanced cleaning protocols at all stations had already begun, Beckett told media Sunday that the station involved has been temporarily closed for a deep cleaning, however there is no disruption to fire service in the area which is being covered by other stations.

Across Canada the federal government reports a total of 5,655 cases, but that figure does not include the updated Ontario numbers and might not reflect updated numbers from other provinces.

South of the border the situation in many parts of the U.S. grows more dire by the hour.

Doctor Anthony Fauci, who has gained prominence during the crisis, as head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, playing a lead role in the White House’s coronavirus command team, told CNN Sunday morning that the U.S. could see “between 100,000 and 200,000” deaths and “millions of cases” before the pandemic ends. The total number there has reached more than 124,000 cases with more than 2,100 confirmed deaths. New York state reported 237 COVID-19-related deaths over the past 24 hours on Sunday morning, and officials there are now bracing for a crisis that could completely devastate the state’s largest population centres.

In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has apologized for the poorly managed nationwide lockdown he ordered on Wednesday, throwing much of the country of 1.4 billion people into chaos. Scenes on social media showed police beating the poor who could not obey the sweeping shutdown because they lack food and basic necessities, while millions of migrant workers crammed bus stations trying to flee home.

The scene at a New Delhi bus station Friday

“I apologize for taking these harsh steps that have caused difficulties in your lives, especially the poor people,” Modi stated on public radio. “I know some of you will be angry with me. But these tough measures were needed to win this battle.”

Healthcare officials there fear that masses of workers leaving population centres might spread the virus to other parts of the country. Though India has confirmed less than 900 cases, health experts there say the number is much higher, but alarmingly low testing rates are not providing an accurate picture.

Experts have warned that India could see hundreds of millions of COVID-19 cases and more than a million deaths. The shutdown has stranded at least 21,000 Canadians there, including many from Mississauga and Brampton, who have not been able to return home since the extreme measure was suddenly announced.

In Canada, 61 COVID-19-related deaths have been confirmed, but this number does not include the updated number of deaths in Ontario and there might be deaths in other provinces that are also not reflected in the figure on the federal government’s COVID-19 webpage as of Sunday at 2 p.m. (EST).