Ontario reported more than 4,400 new COVID-19 cases over the past two days, setting a new single-day high on Tuesday with more than 2,550 new infections reported.

“Today, there are 895 new cases in Toronto, 496 in Peel, 147 in Windsor-Essex County, 144 in Hamilton and 142 in York Region,” Health Minister Christine Elliott wrote on Twitter.

Ontario reported 2,142 new cases of COVID-19 on Dec. 26 and 2,159 on Christmas Day, setting a then record-high on Dec. 24 with 2,447.

On Monday, provincial labs detected 1,939 new cases, but on Tuesday 2,553 were found, the highest number of cases detected in a single day since the pandemic began in Ontario.

There were also 78 deaths reported over the two days – 37 on Monday and 41 on Tuesday.

Provincial labs processed far fewer specimens than usual over the past two days, in part due holiday slowdowns and closures of some assessment centres.

Labs processed 39,565 specimens on Monday and 34,112 specimens on Tuesday, finding worryingly high positivity rates on both days.

The positivity rate was 8.6 per cent on Monday and 9.7 per cent on Tuesday, the highest it has been province-wide since early April.

The 895 new cases reported in Toronto on Tuesday represents a new record for the city.

Meanwhile, critical care hospitalizations continue to rise to levels not seen the entire length of the pandemic.

There were 332 people in intensive care across Ontario on Tuesday, according to a senior Toronto hospital official, citing the Critical Care Services Ontario report.

There were a total of 864 people receiving all levels of care for COVID-19 symptoms on Tuesday, according to the province, with 207 people breathing with the help of a ventilator.