Ontario clarifies 'error' in Monday coronavirus numbers

The Ontario government says that it accidentally jumbled the new coronavirus case data for Monday and Tuesday, leading to Monday's new case numbers being exaggerated, CP24 reports.

The Ontario government reported 1,589 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, a new record for the province. Now they are saying that these numbers are inaccurate and actually include cases from the first eight and a half hours of the next day, leading to Monday's numbers being inflated while Tuesday's numbers were underrepresented.

"Due to technical issues, instead of including cases up until 12:00 pm on November 22, yesterday’s report contained cases reported in CCM up until 8:30 pm on November 22, resulting in an overestimate of the daily counts yesterday, and an underestimate of the daily counts today," according to Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott.

While the government did not offer the actual number of cases which should have been reported on Monday, the number of cases on Monday and Tuesday average to 1,299 per day. Toronto and surrounding regions remain the epicenter of new cases despite government-imposed social and commercial restrictions.

Nevertheless, the rolling seven-day average has declined over the past week from 1,421 to 1,395.

The Ford government moved Toronto and Peel Region into lockdown on Monday due to the large case numbers seen in the areas. Under the new restrictions, non-essential businesses are open for curb-side pickup only, restaurant dining is closed, and indoor social gatherings outside of one's immediate household are prohibited.