Ontario health officials have confirmed an additional 525 cases of COVID-19 in the province as of Tuesday morning, a notable increase from recent days. 

Daily case numbers had been steadily decreasing for the past three days, with yesterday's 424 new cases marking the lowest increase in two weeks. 

But it seems we still have a long way to go before lockdown restrictions can be lifted in Ontario, as 525 new cases and 59 new deaths is nowhere near the 200 new cases per day or less Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams says he'd like to see before Premier Doug Ford considers opening things back up within the province. 

According to the province's dedicated COVID-19 web portal, the new cases mark a 3.5 per cent increase from the previous report. 

Status of #COVID19 in #Ontario [Apr 28 10:30am]: 15381 known cases* (525 new cases, 951 total deaths, 59 new deaths, 6282 results pending)

See thread for more graphs⤵️#covid19Canada #COVIDー19 #onhealth #COVID_19 #covidontario #COVID19ontario pic.twitter.com/mFMNYN3rrK

— Dr. Jennifer Kwan (@jkwan_md) April 28, 2020

There have now been a total of 15,381 cases of the novel coronavirus in Ontario. And with 951 deaths and 8,964 resolved cases to date, 5,466 active cases remain. 

Meanwhile, testing in the province continues to lag and the number of tests completed yesterday was significantly below the 12,550 tests conducted in the previous day.

While a total of 253,040 have been administered in the province thus far, only 10,852 were completed yesterday and a growing backlog includes 6,282 cases under investigation. 

Ontario reporting 15,381 cases of COVID-19 today, an increase of 525 or 3.5%. 951 deaths, an increase of 59. 10,852 tests completed yesterday and 6,282 pending. https://t.co/cc84aiHrmf pic.twitter.com/hFrdT022MZ

— John Michael McGrath (@jm_mcgrath) April 28, 2020

The number of people hospitalized with the virus also continues to rise gradually, with 957 total people currently in hospital, 239 in ICU and 187 on a ventilator. 

According to Ontario's daily Epidemiologic Summary, 176 outbreaks have been reported in long-term care homes — marking an increase of six outbreaks from the previous report. And of the total deaths in the province, 476 have been reported among residents/patients in long-term care homes, a change of 21 deaths from the previous report.

Provincial officials unveiled the plan to reopen Ontario's economy yesterday, and it's an 11-page document called A Framework for Reopening our Province which outlines "guiding principles" for the process. 

Covid-19 numbers in Ontario going the wrong way this morning. Looks like we're quite far from starting Phase 1 of opening back up. #COVID19Ontario

— Thomas M. Littlewood (@tmlittlewood) April 28, 2020

The plan also includes several criteria to determine when we can begin phasing out restrictions, such as a consistent two-to-four week decrease in the number of new daily COVID-19 cases and ongoing testing of suspected COVID-19 cases, especially of vulnerable populations.

So while we're certainly beginning to see a glimmer of a light at the end of the tunnel, it seems we simply aren't there (or even that close to being there) yet.