The Ministry of Health is confirming a spike in new cases of COVID-19 today, with 118 new cases reported overnight. 

This is the highest increase confirmed since Aug. 20 (131 cases), and it comes after just 88 new cases were reported Wednesday. 

Another 77 cases are also now considered to be resolved, and a total of 37,940 Ontario residents have recovered from the virus to date.

Sadly, one additional COVID-19-related death has also been reported in Ontario, bringing the province's death toll to 2,803. 

#COVID19 in #Ontario [Aug 27]:
41813 known cases* (118 new cases)
2803 total deaths (1 new death)

See THREAD for more graphs⬇️📈#covid19Canada #COVIDー19 #onhealth #COVID__19 #COVID19ontario #onpoli #Toronto pic.twitter.com/lX1JGh5J2r

— Dr. Jennifer Kwan (@jkwan_md) August 27, 2020

As of Thursday morning, at least 1,070 cases remain active in Ontario, and a backlog of 26,179 tests remain under investigation.

Health officials across the province administered a total of 28,625 tests yesterday, and some 2,852,346 tests have been completed in Ontario since the start of the pandemic.

According to Health Minister Christine Elliott, 28 of Ontario's 34 public health units are reporting five or fewer cases today, while 18 are reporting no new cases.

Today, Ontario is reporting 118 cases of #COVID19, a 0.3% increase as the province processed more than 28,600 tests. Locally, 28 of Ontario’s 34 public health units are reporting five or fewer cases, with 18 reporting no new cases.

— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) August 27, 2020

Still, today's surge in new cases is yet another reminder that the pandemic is far from over.

And while Ontario has managed to get community transmission under control for the time being, many other jurisdictions that reopened before us have already experienced surges and have had to reimplement lockdown measures. 

"We know from observing other cities around the world that unless we all embrace our personal responsibility to keep our distance from others outside our social bubble and wear our masks, we will see increased COVID-19 infections in our city," said Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto's medical officer of health, during her press briefing yesterday. 

"We're going to be living with this virus for the foreseeable future, so it is critical that everyone understands that this is a marathon and not a sprint. We still have a long road ahead of us and we need to be careful."