Here are the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic in the Greater Toronto Area for Friday:
Status of COVID-19 cases in Toronto
According to the most recent data on the Toronto Public Health (TPH) website Friday evening, there were 350 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 since the day before. To date, there have been a total of 21,919 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases. There were 18,204 resolved cases of COVID-19 as of Friday. TPH also reported 1,313 residents in Toronto, to date, have died after contracting the virus.
The City reported there are currently 95 residents in Toronto hospitals.
New restrictions announced for Toronto, Peel Region
Ontario has announced new restrictions under a “modified Stage 2” for Toronto, Peel Region and Ottawa amid rising coronavirus cases.
The new measures, which are set to take effect on Saturday at 12:01 a.m., include the closure of indoor dining at restaurants, bars and nightclubs, as well as the closure of gyms, casinos, cinemas, and performing arts centres.
Personal care services where face coverings have to be removed must also discontinue operations. Interactive exhibits in places like galleries or museums must close.
Capacity limits at organized public events, real estate open houses, meeting and event spaces, tour and guide services, and in-person teaching events will be limited to 10 people indoors and 25 outdoors. Team sports will be limited to training sessions only.
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City of Toronto to suspend some recreation programs amid coronavirus resurgence
Officials said as of Tuesday, various programs and services will be suspended in Toronto including:
- registered and instructional programs including skating and swimming lessons, group fitness classes and wellness programs
- hockey games, scrimmages
- drop-in sports programs other than leisure skating and swimming
- indoor permits for social gatherings and sports games
- billiards, foosball, table tennis
The programs are deemed “high-risk” for coronavirus transmission as they are done indoors and involve close contact, often without masks, officials said. Around 20,000 people are expected to be affected and they will all receive refunds automatically.
100 TTC employees test positive to date
A total of 100 TTC employees have tested positive for the novel coronavirus since the beginning of the outbreak.
The TTC has posted a list of the positions of those employees.
There are a total of 16,000 people employed by the transit agency.
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5 employees at Loblaw’s Maple Leaf Gardens store
Loblaw Companies Ltd. reported five employees at the Maple Leaf Gardens store in downtown Toronto in the two weeks have tested positive for coronavirus.
“We can definitively confirm more than half (of those who tested positive) came from sources outside of the store, including other places of employment or close personal contacts (family and/or friends who have tested positive),” a statement from the company on Friday said.
“As with any case, as soon as we were made aware of the positive diagnosis we identified and sent home any close contacts and conducted additional cleaning in the store.”
939 new COVID-19 cases in Ontario, a new provincial record
Ontario is reporting 939 new cases of coronavirus on Friday.
Friday’s case count surpasses Thursday’s, which saw 797 new infections and was the previous highest single-day case record in Ontario.
According to Friday’s provincial report, 336 new cases were recorded in Toronto, 150 in Peel Region, 126 in Ottawa, 68 in York Region, 59 in Halton Region and 40 in Hamilton. All other public health units in Ontario reported under 35 new cases.
Ontario child care centres and schools
Meanwhile, government figures show there have been a total of 876 school-related COVID-19 cases in Ontario — 482 among students and 149 among staff (245 individuals were not identified). This is an increase of 56 more cases from the previous day.
In the last 14 days, the province indicates there are 369 cases reported among students and 94 cases among staff (165 individuals were not identified).
The COVID-19 cases are currently from 429 out of 4,828 schools in the province.
Four schools in Ontario are currently closed as a result of positive cases, the government indicated.
There have been a total of 236 confirmed cases within child care centres and homes — an increase of 20 since the previous day (nine new child cases and 11 new staff cases).
Ontario long-term care homes
According to the Ministry of Long-Term Care, there have been 1,880 deaths reported among residents and patients in long-term care homes across Ontario, which is an increase of one death from the previous day. Eight health-care workers and staff in long-term care homes have died.
There are 56 current outbreaks in homes, a decrease of one.
The ministry also indicated there are currently 145 active cases among long-term care residents and 178 active cases among staff — down by eight cases and up by six cases respectively in the last day.
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