Here are the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic in the Greater Toronto Area for Sunday.
60 dead at Scarborough long-term care home amid COVID-19 outbreak
The death toll at a Scarborough long-term care home continues to rise amid a coronavirus outbreak at the facility.
A statement from North York General Hospital on Saturday said five more residents have died at Tendercare Living Centre, bringing the total number of people who have died from COVID-19 there to 60.
Officials said while improvements have been made with regards to handling the outbreak and no residents have tested positive for three days, some of those who acquired the infection 10 to 14 days ago are recovering, while others are developing complications.
Thirty-nine staff members currently have COVID-19, while 56 have recovered and could return to work.
The statement said staffing levels are now above baseline.
‘Resign’ sign taped outside Rod Phillips’ Ajax office
A sign reading “resign now” was seen taped outside of Rod Phillips’ Ajax office on Sunday.
Phillips came under fire last week after it was revealed he took a trip to the Caribbean despite pleas to stay home amid the pandemic.
Phillips returned home and subsequently resigned from his position as finance minister, but continues to hold the position of Member of Provincial Parliament for Ajax.
Ontario education minister sticks to timeline for schools
Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce is sticking to the province’s timeline for schools to return to in-person classes amid the provincial shutdown.
Last month, the government announced that as part of the provincewide shutdown, students in Ontario will initially work remotely following the winter break.
Premier Doug Ford said that while schools are “not part of the problem,” the decision was made “out of an abundance of caution.”
In a letter to parents on Saturday, Lecce reiterated that elementary students will return to in-person classes on Jan. 11 as will secondary students in northern areas of the province. Secondary students in southern areas of the province will return to class on Jan. 25.
“I want to reassure parents that according to the province’s leading doctors, our schools are safe, with eight out of 10 schools in this province having no cases of COVID-19 and based on board reporting, 99.64 per cent of students have not reported a case of COVID-19,” Lecce said.
Status of cases in the GTA
Ontario reported 2,964 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday.
Of those:
- 786 were in Toronto
- 346 were in Peel Region
- 308 were in York Region
- 197 were in Durham Region
- 100 were in Halton Region
Ontario reports 2,964 new cases, 25 more deaths
Ontario’s latest cases bring the total number of cases in the province to 190,962.
Twenty-five additional deaths were also announced, bringing the provincial death toll to 4,650.
Over 49,800 additional tests were completed. Ontario has now completed a total of 8,103,832 tests and 27,769 remain under investigation.
The province indicated that the positivity rate for the last day was 5.6 per cent, which is down from Saturday, when it was six per cent, and up from last Sunday when it was 5.1 per cent.
4,361 more vaccine doses administered
As of 8 p.m. Saturday, 37,551 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Ontario, marking an increase of 4,361 from the previous day.