Here are the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic in the Greater Toronto Area for Monday:
Provincewide shutdown coming on Boxing Day
Ontario has announced that a “provincewide shutdown” will begin on Boxing Day and last for four weeks in southern areas of the province and two weeks in northern areas.
“Unfortunately, despite the restrictions, we’ve seen growing numbers of people travelling between regions within Ontario,” Premier Doug Ford said during a press conference Monday.
“COVID is spreading rapidly from high outbreak areas to areas with fewer cases. As it does, our hospitals are filling up more each day. We’ve seen a 70-per cent increase in hospitalizations and 80-per cent increase in ICU admissions in the past few weeks.”
Delayed return of in-person classes for Ontario schools
In response to rising coronavirus cases, the provincial government has announced a delay in resuming in-person classes at Ontario’s schools.
“Public health and other experts have expressed significant concerns that the current transmission trends, combined with the potentially high levels of mobility from social and consumer activity over the holiday period, could overwhelm health care and public health sector capacity in the new year,” officials said in an update Monday afternoon.
ICU cases to top 300 within 10 days
New coronavirus projections show that under all scenarios, the province will see 300 intensive care unit beds filled within 10 days.
Under a worst-case-scenario, ICU occupancy could hit 1,500 beds by mid-January.
The data also shows that deaths due to COVID-19 will continue to increase, especially in long-term care where there have been 633 resident deaths since Sept. 1, and 100 over the past week.
Status of cases in the GTA
Ontario reported a total of 2,123 new cases on Monday:
Of those:
- 611 were in Toronto
- 480 were in Peel Region
- 192 were in York Region
- 91 were in Durham Region
- 92 were in Halton Region
Ontario reports more than 2,100 new cases, 17 deaths
Ontario reported 2,123 new cases of the novel coronavirus Monday, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 158,053.
Seventeen new deaths were also reported, bringing the provincial death toll to 4,167.
Monday marks the seventh day in a row more than 2,000 new cases were reported in the province.
Ministry of Long-Term Care reports 6 more deaths
According to the Ministry of Long-Term Care, there have been 2,508 deaths reported among residents and patients in long-term care homes across Ontario, which is an increase of six.
There are currently 160 outbreaks in long-term care homes.
— With files from The Canadian Press
- Canadian man dies during Texas Ironman event. His widow wants answers as to why
- Invasive strep: ‘Don’t wait’ to seek care, N.S. woman warns on long road to recovery
- ‘Sciatica was gone’: hospital performs robot-assisted spinal surgery in Canadian first
- ‘Super lice’ are becoming more resistant to chemical shampoos. What to use instead
Comments