Here are the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic in the Greater Toronto Area for Wednesday.
Canada Post worker dies after testing positive for COVID-19 amid outbreak at Mississauga facility
A Canada Post worker has died after testing positive for coronavirus amid an outbreak a mail facility in Mississauga, officials said Wednesday.
In a statement, the postal service said the employee, who worked at the Gateway East facility located near Dixie Road and Eglinton Avenue, last worked on Jan. 18.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) told Global News the male employee worked the night shift.
Air Transat suspends all flights from Toronto
Transat A.T. Inc. says it will suspend all Air Transat flights out of Toronto until April 30, effective Thursday.
The travel company said the Canadian government’s new and stricter border entry requirements caused a decline in bookings, forcing the airline to revise its flight schedule.
Peel Public Health confirms 3 cases of U.K. variant
Dr. Lawrence Loh, Peel Public Health’s top doctor, said Wednesday there are three known cases of the U.K. variant detected in the region.
He said the latest information online was that there are two cases but notes a third case is being entered into the system.
“All of the cases have an association with travel and/or close contact with travel,” Loh said.
14 U.K. variant cases confirmed in Toronto
Toronto medical officer of health Dr. Eileen de Villa said Wednesday that Toronto has 14 known cases of the U.K. coronavirus variant.
Status of cases in the GTA
Ontario reported a total of 1,670 new cases on Wednesday.
Of those:
- 450 were in Toronto
- 342 were in Peel Region
- 171 were in York Region
- 63 were in Durham Region
- 48 were in Halton Region
Ontario reports under 1,700 new cases, 49 more deaths
Ontario is reporting 1,670 new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday, the third day in a row cases are below 2,000, bringing the provincial total to 260,370.
It is also the lowest increase in daily cases since Nov. 26 when 1,478 new cases were reported.
The death toll in the province has risen to 5,958 after 49 more deaths were reported.
Resolved cases increased by 2,725 from the previous day. The government said 55,191 tests were processed in the last 24 hours.
Ontario long-term care homes
According to the Ministry of Long-Term Care, there have been 3,428 deaths reported among residents and patients in long-term care homes across Ontario which is an increase of 39 deaths. Eleven virus-related deaths in total have been reported among staff.
There are 238 current outbreaks in homes, which is a decrease of eight from the previous day.
The ministry also indicated there are currently 1,039 active cases among long-term care residents and 974 active cases among staff — down by 125 cases and down by 121 cases, respectively, in the last day.
— With files from The Canadian Press