Halton says local COVID numbers are the most accurate, but new cases still on the rise
Published November 4, 2020 at 6:06 pm
Halton Public Health says its data on COVID-19 cases is more accurate than numbers released by Queen’s Park.
The discrepancy has been noticed the past several days as the Provincial government numbers on new cases don’t add up to the same as Halton.
A notice issued by Halton explains the two governments count their numbers in different ways and at different times. The local health department also says there may be some duplication in the Ontario counts that are inflating the numbers.
Halton health department numbers that are reported each day are pulled from the precise 24-hour period the day before ending at midnight.
The Provincial government acknowledges on its website that if there is a discrepancy between numbers, those reported publicly by a public health unit should be considered the most up to date.
Still, Halton has seen a jump in new cases that past few days that have been captured by both reporting bodies.
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Halton Public Health numbers show an increase of 49 new cases today (Nov. 4) for an active case load of 309 people across the region.
Milton has the most new cases with 18 while Burlington and Oakville each have 15. Halton Hills has one new case.
There are 12 people in Halton currently in hospital being treated for the coronavirus.
Halton Public Health has also determined there is an outbreak of the virus at St. Paul Catholic Elementary School in Burlington where there are three confirmed cases and two closed classrooms.
Halton explains the current fluctuation is likely due to a variation in the number of tests conducted, processed and reported by labs to the public health unit each day.
Ontario is reporting 987 new COVID-19 cases today and 16 new deaths related to the novel coronavirus.
That brings the provincial total to 79,692 cases in Ontario, which includes 3,182 deaths and 68,189 cases considered resolved.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says 319 of the cases recorded today are in Toronto, 299 are in Peel Region, 85 in York Region and 62 in Durham Region.
The province says it completed nearly 28,600 tests since the last daily report.
The new numbers come a day after the provincial government announced a tiered, colour-coded system for managing pandemic measures. The system is meant to provide a safe framework for easing additional restrictions that were imposed on four hot spot regions, and which are set to expire this week.
With files from The Canadian Press
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