No COVID-19 daily figures on Christmas Day, a day after Ontario hits new single-day record

The province will not be releasing its COVID-19 daily figures on Christmas Day a day after Ontario hit a new record high.

Ontario reported a new single-day record of2,447 new COVID-19 caseson Thursday, with 49 additional deaths.

The case count surpassedthe province'sprevious high of2,432, which was recorded on Dec. 17.

Thursday's figure also marksthe tenth consecutive day of more than 2,000 new cases in the province.The province saw 2,408 infections on Wednesday and 2,202 recorded the day before that.

Of Thursday'snew cases, 646 were reported in Toronto, 502 in Peel Region, 173 in Windsor-Essex, 263 in York Region and 101 in Hamilton.

Ontario's chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams, and associate medical officer of health, Dr. Barbara Yaffe,will hold a COVID-19 update on Dec. 29, however they will not be holding their regular provincial updates on Dec. 28 or 31.

The province will also be holding off on releasing COVID-19 daily case counts on Dec. 28 andJan. 1, the Ministry of Health said. Data for those dates will be posted the following day.

A provincewidelockdown will begin at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 26 and remain in effect until Jan. 23, 2021 in the 27 public health units that comprise southern Ontario.

In Ontario's north, where daily case numbers have been significantly lower, the lockdown is set to expire on Jan. 9, 2021.

Premier Doug Ford said the strict new measureswill be crucial in preserving capacity in Ontario's health-care system as intensive care units in hospitals are becoming increasingly inundated with COVID-19 patients.

What's open and closed on Christmas Day

Christmas Day in the GTA will look a bit different this year with the lockdown still in effect. Here's a list of what is open and closed in and around the city on this day:

Open

• TTC service, operatingon a holiday service schedule.
• GO Transit.
• Outdoor city-run skating rinks.
• City parks.

Closed

• All banks and government offices.
• LCBO stores and The Beer Store.
• Grocery stores.
• Skiing and snowboarding facilities.