KITCHENER -- Waterloo Region seems to be ramping up its testing as officials reported Friday that another 749 COVID-19 tests had been completed.

The jump comes after three days in a row where the region reported increases of more than 400 tests per day.

It's also a far cry from last week's low, when the region reported a single-day increase of just 77.

Regional partners have now conducted a total of 17,739 tests.

Testing opened up to the general public two weeks ago at local testing and assessment centres.

Now, anyone can self-refer to a testing centre.

READ MORE: Want to get tested but not sure how? Here's what to do

Despite the increase in testing, the region reported just one new case on Friday, bringing the total to 1,099.

Acting Medical Officer Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang says the numbers seem to be encouraging.

"We're seeing an increase in testing and we're seeing numbers stable or decreasing," she said during a Friday media briefing.

But she said people that we're not out of the woods yet. She reminded people that there is always a lag between when infections and when the region gets the cases reported to them.

She says that our actions each day will dictate the state of the virus in Waterloo Region two weeks from now.

CAO Mike Murray also reminded people who are tested that a negative result is only a point in time: it doesn't replace necessary public health measures, like physical distancing, good hand hygiene and avoiding unnecessary travel.

Officials also reported 15 new resolved cases in the region, bringing the total to 797. No new deaths were reported, leaving the death toll at 113.

The region has only reported one new death since May 20.

Considering the number of resolved and deceased cases, there are just 189 active confirmed cases in Waterloo Region.

Across the province, Ontario reported 344 new cases of COVID-19, and 41 more deaths.

There are now 27,210 cases of the virus in the province, including 20,983 recoveries and 2,230 deaths.

Ontario hopes to be conducting 20,000 tests per day, and the daily number appears to be improving: in the last 24 hours, 18,525 tests were done across the province.

Correction:

This is a corrected story. An earlier version stated that the region had reported 1,199 new tests on Friday. In fact, the region reported 749 additional tests on Friday.