Here are the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic in the Greater Toronto Area for Friday.
Ontario labour minister says economy reopening details coming next week
Ontario’s labour minister says Premier Doug Ford will announce details on reopening the province’s economy next week.
Monte McNaughton did not provide further specifics, but his comments come as the province’s current state of emergency is set to expire on Tuesday.
Questions raised about new support staff hiring for Ontario schools reopening
The Ontario Ministry of Education is facing questions about the hiring of additional support staff to keep Ontario schools safe during their reopening amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
During recent news conferences, including Wednesday, Lecce claimed numerous times the government has hired hundreds of new custodians, teachers and additional public health nurses to support schools.
Global News was able to confirm some new hires, however, the ministry was not able to point to any proof that the targets set have been met.
Ontario reports 1,670 new coronavirus cases, province notes an overestimation due to data migration
Ontario is reporting 1,670 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, bringing the provincial total to 275,330.
The province notes Friday’s case count is a slight overestimation due to a data system migration that began on Monday and has resulted in the fluctuation of daily case numbers all week. Toronto Public Health’s migration included 125 older cases in Friday’s tally.
The death toll in the province has risen to 6,438 as 45 more deaths were reported.
Resolved cases increased by 2,233 from the previous day. The government said 62,710 tests were processed in the last 24 hours.
Status of cases in the GTA
Ontario reported a total of 1,670 new cases on Friday.
Of those:
- 667 were in Toronto
- 317 were in Peel Region
- 125 were in York Region
- 46 were in Durham Region
- 100 were in Halton Region
Cases, deaths and outbreaks in Ontario long-term care homes
According to the Ministry of Long-Term Care, there have been 3,640 deaths reported among residents and patients in long-term care homes across Ontario which is an increase of 13 deaths. Eleven virus-related deaths in total have been reported among staff.
There are 208 current outbreaks in homes, which is an increase of two from the previous day.
The ministry also indicated there are currently 591 active cases among long-term care residents and 730 active cases among staff — down by 110 cases and down by 28 cases, respectively, in the last day.
NOTE: This story will be updated throughout the day.
— With files from The Canadian Press and Global News Travis Dhanraj
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