With thousands of high school graduates packing their bags for university and college, Premier Doug Ford is warning them to “cool your jets with the partying” when they arrive on campuses across Ontario.

The risks of COVID-19 outbreaks are too great to let down the guard on pandemic precautions, Ford said Thursday as the number of active cases reached its highest level in three weeks and hospitalizations for the virus continued to creep upward.

He pointed to the crowded parties seen in television news clips from several U.S. university towns, where cases have skyrocketed in residences and forced some to close in a country where the novel coronavirus is running rampant.

“I’m just going to speak to the young people: Guys, just don’t go out there. No parties,” Ford told a news conference in Brockville.

“Later on, when we all get through this, you can party after. Just hang in there. Because what’s gonna happen is ... God forbid, someone gets COVID and you’re at these big parties. I’ve seen them. I had four girls. I dropped them off at university.”

While colleges and universities are taking steps to prevent the spread of the virus — such as staggered move-in dates for residences, no sharing of rooms, virtual frosh week festivities, takeout food from cafeterias and blocking off space for students who need to self-isolate — Ford said students will play the most important role.

The Ministry of Health reported another 118 cases of the virus across the province Thursday, up 34 per cent from 88 the previous day, raising the number of Ontarians with active infections to 1,070.

That’s the highest since Aug. 7 and well above a low of 891 early this month.

Most new cases are in people under the age of 40, with 47 of the 118 new infections in the 20 to 39 age group and 33 being 19 or younger, mostly in their late teens, said chief medical officer Dr. David Williams.

The new infections remain concentrated in Toronto with 36, 19 in Peel, and Ottawa with 22, while Windsor-Essex increased jumped to 12 and Durham had 10.

Health Minister Christine Elliott said most areas of the province remain in good shape as the province continues in Stage 3 of reopenings.

“Locally, 28 of Ontario’s 34 public health units are reporting five or fewer cases, with 18 reporting no new cases,” she wrote on Twitter.

Although Ontario is struggling to keep new daily infections below 100 most days, ending a streak enjoyed earlier this month, Williams said he is not overly concerned but is keeping a close watch. “I want it below 150,” he said.

Should numbers jump up once students return to school, Williams said the province is prepared to consider local or regional restrictions aimed a specific outbreaks — such as ordering closures of businesses or schools with large clusters of infection — instead of a broader lockdown as seen in the winter and spring.

“It doesn’t take a lot to rack up 150 to 200 cases in a large place with 10,000 people,” he added.

Peel has the highest number of active cases of COVID-19 with 254, followed by Toronto with 243 and Ottawa with 177 — all increases from Wednesday. Ministry of Health statistics are based on information submitted by health units at 4 p.m. the previous day.

The number of people requiring hospital care for COVID-19 across Ontario increased by five to 48, the highest since Aug. 12, with the 18 needing intensive care up by three. Ten of the ICU patients are on ventilators, unchanged from Wednesday.

Hospitalizations remain well within the health system’s capacity, but have been climbing with the increased number of active cases.

A Star compilation of data from health units at 5 p.m. Thursday found 147 new confirmed and probable cases in the previous 24 hours, for a total of 43,943 since last January. There have been 2,839 deaths.

Labs across Ontario processed 28,625 tests on Wednesday.

Rob Ferguson is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @robferguson1