OTTAWA – The week is starting badly in the battle against COVID-19 with 90 new cases in the city and eight schools declaring outbreaks.

Ontario is reporting a spike in COVID-19, with 700 new cases recorded today.

The government is also reporting one new death from the illness in Ottawa. The West End Villa long-term care home has reported two more deaths since Friday.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says 344 new cases are being reported in Toronto, 104 cases in Peel Region, 89 in Ottawa and 56 in York Region. Ottawa Public Health has since updated the local number to 90.

Elliott says 60 per cent of the new cases are among people under the age of 40.

The province is also reporting 36 new COVID-19 cases related to schools, including at least 27 among students.

Those bring the number of schools with a reported case to 224 out of Ontario’s 4,828 publicly funded schools.

There are currently eight schools in Ottawa reporting outbreaks of COVID-19, meaning the school has two or more cases of the virus and a confirmed transmission.

The four school boards in Ottawa are reporting 58 schools with at least one case of the virus. 

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board is reporting 12 schools with a case of the virus. In total, 11 students and one staff member are affected. 

There are 19 schools in the Ottawa Catholic School Board reporting cases. In total, 24 students and two staff members are affected. 

Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario is reporting 10 schools with cases of COVID-19, affecting 12 students and three staff members. 

And Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est is reporting 17 schools with at least one case of the virus, affecting 25 people.