Here are the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic in the Greater Toronto Area for Friday:
Status of cases in Toronto
Toronto Public Health is reporting a total of 24,002 coronavirus cases in the city, which is up by 375.
A total of 20,133 people have recovered, while the city has recorded a total of 1,331 deaths.
There are 107 people in Toronto who are hospitalized with the virus.
York Region to move into ‘modified Stage 2’ on Monday
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has announced that York Region is moving to a “modified Stage 2” amid a spike in coronavirus cases.
Ford said that the measure takes effect Monday, Oct. 19 at 12:01 a.m. and will last for a period of 28 days.
Modified Stage 2 includes the closure of indoor dining, gyms, and other establishments, among other restrictions. York Region will join Toronto, Peel Region and Ottawa.
Ford cited the region’s positivity rate and rising case count as reasoning behind the decision.
TDSB elementary students switch between in-person, virtual learning pushed to January
The Toronto District School Board says elementary students will not be able to switch between in-person and online learning in November.
The next opportunity for the swap will now be in January, the TDSB said.
The board originally gave elementary students three deadlines of Sept. 30, Nov. 6 and Jan. 29 to move between the two option of learning.
The board cites maintaining “stability” as the reason it moved the second opportunity to January.
Ontario reports 712 new cases on Friday
Ontario is reporting 712 new cases of coronavirus on Friday, bringing the provincial total to 62,908.
According to Friday’s provincial report, 213 new cases were recorded in Toronto, 135 in Peel Region, 108 in Ottawa, 62 in York Region, 46 in Halton Region and 27 in Durham Region. All other public health units in Ontario reported under 25 new cases.
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said more than 38,500 tests were processed in the last 24 hours. However, there is currently a backlog of 37,155 tests that need results.
The death toll in the province has risen to 3,031 as nine new deaths were reported. Resolved cases increased by 713 from the previous day.
Ontario child care centres and schools
Meanwhile, government figures show there have been a total of 1,242 school-related COVID-19 cases in Ontario — 690 among students and 195 among staff (357 individuals were not identified). This is an increase of 98 more cases from the previous day.
In the last 14 days, the province indicates there are 416 cases reported among students and 106 cases among staff (213 individuals were not identified) — totaling 735 cases.
The COVID-19 cases are currently from 485 out of 4,828 schools in the province.
Five schools in Ontario are currently closed as a result of positive cases, the government indicated.
There have been a total of 292 confirmed cases within child care centres and homes — an increase of 11 since the previous day (seven new child cases and four new staff cases).
Ontario long-term care homes
According to the Ministry of Long-Term Care, there have been 1,901 deaths reported among residents and patients in long-term care homes across Ontario, an increase of four deaths in the last day. Eight health-care workers and staff in long-term care homes have died.
There are 72 current outbreaks in homes, an increase of one.
The ministry also indicated there are currently 158 active cases among long-term care residents and 203 active cases among staff — down by one and up by four cases respectively in the last day.
Ontario government won’t pursue criminal charges for some impaired drivers due to COVID-19 court backlog
The Ontario government is recommending Crown prosecutors no longer pursue criminal charges against people caught driving under the influence in cases without aggravating factors such as a death or injuries, according to a new directive from the provincial Ministry of the Attorney General.
The government introduced the directive in August to address what it said was a backlog of cases piling up in the courts due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. It would allow prosecutors to settle for a guilty plea to a lesser charge of careless driving, an offence under the Highway Safety Act, instead of pursuing a criminal conviction.
The ministry said that there were already about 6,000 impaired driving cases under review by Crown prosecutors in Ontario, prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
— With files from Global News’ Morganne Campbell and The Canadian Press.
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