Here are the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic in the Greater Toronto Area for Tuesday.
Toronto, Windsor, Hamilton, Peel and York region schools to remain closed until Feb. 10
Premier Doug Ford announced schools in the province’s COVID-19 hotspot regions will remain closed to in-class instruction until at least Feb. 10.
Ford said the chief medical officer of health will provide recommendations for other regions ahead of that reopening date, on Jan. 20.
Last week, the provincial government said elementary students in southern Ontario would not be returning to the classroom on Monday and instead set a date for Jan. 25. That is also when secondary students were expected to return to in-person learning.
Ontario declares 2nd state of emergency, issues stay-at-home order
The Ontario government has declared a state of emergency — the second since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic — and is issuing a stay-at-home order.
Premier Doug Ford said the state of emergency will be in effect for at least 28 days. The stay-at-home order will take effect on Thursday at 12:01 a.m.
All businesses that have the ability to allow employees to work from home must do so.
Non-essential retailers including hardware stores, alcohol retailers, and stores offering curbside pickup and delivery can’t open earlier than 7 a.m. and must close no later than 8 p.m. Non-essential construction projects must stop.
Ontario declares 2nd state of emergency, issues stay-at-home order
Health Minister Christine Elliott said eight new cases of the U.K. coronavirus variant were also detected. The U.K. variant is believed to be more contagious, but it is not believed to cause more severe illness or resistance to vaccines.
There are now 14 confirmed cases of the U.K. variant so far in Ontario, the government said,
Durham couple who first tested positive for U.K. COVID variant under ‘active investigation’
The Durham Region couple who became Ontario’s first cases of the fast-spreading U.K. COVID-19 variant are now under “active investigation,” the local public health agency confirmed to Global News on Tuesday.
The two unnamed individuals from the region were identified on Dec. 26, 2020, as the first two cases in Canada of the new coronavirus strain initially identified in the U.K.
The Durham Region Health Department said the couple was in self-isolation when the positive tests were identified and at the time said they had no exposure via travel or high-risk contacts.
Ontario reports 2,903 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, 41 more deaths
Ontario is reporting 2,903 new cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing the provincial total to 222,023.
The death toll in the province has risen to 5,053, after 41 more deaths were reported.
Ontario reported a record high in hospitalizations as there are 1,701 people hospitalized with COVID-19 (up by 138 from the previous day), with 385 patients in an intensive care unit (down by two) and 262 patients in ICUs on a ventilator (down by six).
The government said 44,802 tests were processed in the last 24 hours. Resolved cases increased by 3,353 from the previous day.
Status of cases in the GTA
Ontario reported a total of 2,903 new cases on Tuesday.
Of those:
- 837 were in Toronto
- 545 were in Peel Region
- 249 were in York Region
- 75 were in Durham Region
- 47 were in Halton Region
COVID-19 deaths in Ontario’s 2nd wave to exceed 1st if contacts aren’t reduced, modelling suggests
There will be more coronavirus deaths from the second wave of the pandemic in Ontario than the first if there isn’t a “significant reduction” in contacts, provincial modelling released Tuesday suggests.
The data shows that “mobility, and contacts between people have not decreased with the current restrictions.” While most Ontarians are trying to follow restrictions, cases will not decrease until more of the population does the same, officials said.
Ontario long-term care homes
According to the Ministry of Long-Term Care, there have been 2,995 deaths reported among residents and patients in long-term care homes across Ontario which is an increase of 15 deaths. Ten virus-related deaths in total have been reported among staff.
There are 249 current outbreaks in homes, a decrease of three from the previous day.
The ministry also indicated there are currently 1,553 active cases among long-term care residents and 1,244 active cases among staff — up by 51 cases and down by 16 cases, respectively, in the last day.