York Region public health is reporting a total of 63 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with a total of 10 additional cases in Vaughan, Markham and Whitchurch Stouffville today, March 23.
The eight new cases confirmed tonight are all under investigation, which York Region medical officer of health Dr. Karim Kurji said yesterday is an indication of the growing number of individuals who have been infected by local transmission or community spread — which means travel and close contact are not the source of transmission.
The additional cases are: a man in his 30s in Whitchurch-Stouffville; a man in his 60s, two women in their 60s, a woman in her 30s, a woman in her 70s, and a man in his 70s, all in Markham; and a man in his 40s in Vaughan.
The two cases in Vaughan reported this morning are a woman in her 70s (under investigation), and a woman in her 60s, a close contact case, is in self-isolation.
A man in his 60s in self-isolation is Newmarket's third COVID-19 case.
A COVID-19 outbreak at Markhaven Home for Seniors was declared yesterday as a precaution, which means anyone with symptoms at the facility is assumed to be a positive case of COVID-19, Kurji added. A woman in her 70s at the Markham long-term care centre has tested positive for COVID-19.
Of the 63 cases in York Region, 23 are in Vaughan; 23 in Markham, eight in Richmond Hill, three in Newmarket, two in East Gwillimbury, two in Aurora and two in Whitchurch-Stouffville. One case is resolved, Dr. Kurji said.
A Bradford West Gwillimbury woman is in serious condition with a community-acquired COVID-19 case at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket.
With the increasing severity of the COVID-19 outbreak, Ontario has now launched an enhanced and interactive self-assessment tool.
