Coronavirus: Latest developments in the Greater Toronto Area on March 16

Here are the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic in the Greater Toronto Area for Tuesday.

Toronto Public Health tells Global News 12 people have tested positive for coronavirus since Feb. 25 in connection to Upper Canada College located near Avenue Road and St. Clair Avenue West.

“The majority of people who tested positive have had close contact with someone in a community or household setting,” the local public health unit said.

Toronto Public Health said it has recommended that the whole school be tested and that the school has decided to voluntarily close for in-person classes until test results are completed.

1:57 Toronto private school suspends in-person classes after multiple COVID-19 cases reported

Toronto Public Health said as of Monday morning, 20,517 people between the ages of 60 and 64 were inoculated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 shot at participating pharmacies across Toronto.

Starting on Wednesday, residents born in 1941 and earlier can receive a COVID-19 vaccine at three city-run mass immunization clinics — Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto Congress Centre and Scarborough Town Centre. Appointments must be made online or by phone through the provincial website.

2:20 AstraZeneca vaccine can now be used on those aged 65+, NACI says

For students off during the week of April 12, the City of Toronto has announced it will be offering CampTO programming again.

The week-long break comes after the Ontario government pushed March Break back a month as part of its response to the coronavirus pandemic.

CampTO will be available to students between the ages of six and 12.

Registration will open at 8 a.m. on March 23 and people can look at programming options as of Wednesday.

Officials said the program was created in consultation with Toronto Public Health.

“These guidelines include physical distancing, daily health screening, wearing masks, cohorting, and enhanced facility cleaning. Each camp group will stay together for the entire week and will not interact with other camper groups,” the statement said.

As the Ontario government continues to work through the first phase of its coronavirus vaccination plan, questions are being raised about why regulated health professionals such as massage therapists and naturopaths are receiving shots as some people 80 and older are still lining up.

“I encourage every public health unit: let’s make sure we get 80-plus over,” Premier Doug Ford said when asked about the issue during an unrelated news conference Tuesday afternoon.

2:39 Ontario massage therapists, naturopaths among those receiving vaccines as aged 80+ still wait

Ontario reported a total of 1,074 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday.

Of those:

• 313 were in Toronto
• 199 were in Peel Region
• 101 were in York Region
• 27 were in Durham Region
• 27 were in Halton Region

Ontario is reporting 1,074 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the provincial total to 320,448.

The death toll in the province has risen to 7,173 as 11 more deaths were recorded.

The government said 28,526 tests were processed in the last 24 hours which is the fewest number of tests in the last three weeks. Resolved cases increased by 1,085 from the previous day.

As of 8 p.m. on Monday, the provincial government reported administering 1,243,132 COVID-19 vaccine doses, representing an increase of 51,579 in the last day. There are 288,918 people fully vaccinated with two doses.

According to the Ministry of Long-Term Care, there have been 3,752 deaths reported among residents and patients in long-term care homes across Ontario which is an increase of two since yesterday. Eleven virus-related deaths in total have been reported among staff.

There are 80 current outbreaks in homes, which is a up down by seven from the previous day.

The ministry also indicated there are currently 43 active cases among long-term care residents and 138 active cases among staff — up by one and up by eight, respectively, in the last day.

Government figures show there have been a total of 10,421 school-related COVID-19 cases in Ontario to date. This is an increase of 367 more cases in the last three days — 301 student cases and 66 staff cases.

The COVID-19 cases are currently from 893 out of 4,828 schools in the province. Twenty-seven schools in Ontario are currently closed as a result of positive cases, the government indicated.

There have been a total of 3,048 confirmed cases within child care centres and homes — an increase of 48 (31 new child cases and 17 staff cases). Out of 5,273 child care centres in Ontario, 205 currently have cases and 56 centres are closed.