Ontario reports close to 3,000 new COVID-19 cases and record number of deaths

Ontario is reporting close to 3,000 new COVID-19 cases and a record number of deaths.

The province added 2,998 cases on Friday along with 100 deaths which is a single-day high.

Sixty-six per cent of the new cases are in the hotspots around the GTHA, southern Ontario and Niagara.

A record-breaking 76,474 tests were completed over the last day.

The per cent positivity rate also fell to 4.6 per cent, the lowest it’s been since Boxing Day.