Here is a roundup of the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic in the Greater Toronto Area for Thursday:
Toronto reaches 1,000 COVID-19 deaths on Thursday
The City of Toronto has recorded it’s 1,000th death due to COVID-19.
“This is a sad milestone in our ongoing fight against this devastating virus,” Mayor John Tory said.
“It is important that we recognize each life lost here mattered to someone in our city – they were our loved ones, our relatives, our neighbours, our coworkers, and our fellow Torontonians,’ Tory said.
Toronto public health has recorded more than 13,500 cases of the virus so far since the pandemic began.
Status of COVID-19 cases in Toronto
According to the most recent data on the Toronto Public Health (TPH) website Thursday evening, there were 1,158 active cases and 11,501 resolved cases of COVID-19. TPH also reported 1,002 people died after contracting the virus.
Of the 276 residents currently in hospital, 72 were being treated in ICU.
173 new COVID-19 cases, 3 deaths in Ontario
Ontario reported 173 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the provincial total to 32,917.
The death toll in the province has risen to 2,553, as three more deaths were reported — the lowest number of new deaths since the end of March.
Overall, new daily infection numbers have been on the decline for Ontario. It is the 11th day in a row with under 300 new cases reported and the fifth day in a row with new cases in the 100s. Thursday’s report now marks the lowest number of new cases within a 24-hour period since March 28.
Meanwhile, 28,004 Ontarians have recovered from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, which is 85 per cent of cases.
Visits to Ontario long-term care, retirement homes resume under strict guidelines
People in Ontario can now visit loved ones in long-term care and retirement homes under strict rules and guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic.
For long-term care homes, one visitor will be allowed per resident per week, and the visits will have to be outdoors.
For retirement homes, residents will be allowed indoor and outdoor visits, depending on what the retirement home sets in place. The number of visitors will be designated by the facility.
All visitors must have tested negative for the novel coronavirus in the past two weeks.
Ontario expected to launch pilot COVID-19 contact tracing mobile app on July 2
A new mobile app to help track the spread of COVID-19 is expected to launch in Ontario on July 2.
Ontario government officials say the app — named COVID Shield — will supplement the province’s contact tracing strategy ahead of a potential second wave of the virus in the fall.
The government says the app works on an opt-in basis in order to protect the privacy of users, and the province has consulted with the Information and Privacy Commissioner on its development.
The app will notify people based on a number of criteria, including if they were within two metres of a person who tests positive for the virus and if that contact was over an extended period of time.
— With files from The Canadian Press.
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