Here are the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic in the Greater Toronto Area for Tuesday:
Etobicoke restaurant opens indoor dining despite lockdown restrictions
Toronto police and bylaw officers are investigating a south Etobicoke restaurant that opened its doors to the public for indoor dining on Tuesday as Toronto is under lockdown
The owner of Adamson Barbecue, Adam Skelly, took to social media to tell people “enough is enough — we’re opening.”
Insp. Tim Crone said the investigators have left the restaurant to submit their findings to superiors at Toronto Public Health and that enforcement action will likely be taken sometime this week.
“By the sheer number of people that are here right now, we don’t have the ability to go in and physically remove everyone at this point. And it would be unsafe to do so,” he said.
Toronto police warn of package theft increasing in east end as more people order online
Toronto police are warning residents of an increase in package thefts in the city’s east end as more people turn to online shopping amid the coronavirus pandemic and looming holiday season.
On Monday, Toronto was moved into lockdown by the Ontario government as the city continues to see rising case numbers of coronavirus. Under lockdown restrictions, most businesses are delivery or curbside pickup only.
“This has led to criminals capitalizing on opportunities and simply taking packages that are easily accessible and unattended for residents throughout 55 Division,” read a statement issued Monday. The division is located on Coxwell Avenue in the city’s east-end.
Status of cases in the GTA
Ontario reported a total of 1,009 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday.
Of those:
- 497 were in Toronto
- 175 were in Peel Region
- 118 were in York Region
- 16 were in Durham Region
- 5 were in Halton Region
Ontario reports 1,009 new coronavirus cases, a drop due to technical issues
Tuesday’s case count of 1,009 new coronavirus cases is a significant decrease from Monday which saw 1,589 new infections and marked the largest single-day increase to date. However, the provincial government indicated there were technical issues with cases reported for Monday and Tuesday.
“Due to technical issues, instead of including cases up until 12 p.m. on November 22, yesterday’s report contained cases reported in CCM up until 8:30 p.m. on November 22, resulting in an overestimate of the daily counts yesterday, and an underestimate of the daily counts today,” the government said.
The death toll in the province has risen to 3,519 as 14 more deaths were reported.
More than 27,000 tests were processed in the last 24 hours. Resolved cases increased by 1,082 from the previous day.
Ontario long-term care homes
According to the Ministry of Long-Term Care, there have been 2,155 deaths reported among residents and patients in long-term care homes across Ontario which is an increase of five deaths.
There are 102 current outbreaks in homes, a decrease of one.
The ministry also indicated there are currently 534 active cases among long-term care residents and 451 active cases among staff — up by six cases and down by 16 cases respectively in the last day.
Ontario child care centres and schools
Meanwhile, government figures show there have been a total of 4,170 school-related COVID-19 cases in Ontario — 2,516 among students and 568 among staff (1,086 individuals were not identified). This is an increase of 270 more cases over a three-day period, from Friday afternoon to Monday afternoon.
The COVID-19 cases are currently from 703 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 698 confirmed cases within child care centres and homes — an increase of 22 (17 child cases and five staff cases.) Out of 5,249 child care centres in Ontario, 133 currently have cases and 18 centres are closed.
NOTE: This story will be updated throughout the day.