Here are the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic in the Greater Toronto Area for Thursday.
COVID-19 outbreak at St. Sofia School in Mississauga
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board is reporting five staff and 10 students at St. Sofia School in Mississauga have tested positive for coronavirus.
However, sources told Global News a number of staff members have been hospitalized.
When asked for comment, the board and Peel Public Health wouldn’t elaborate due to privacy regulations
The school has since switched to remote learning.
‘God bless America’: Doug Ford reacts to report U.S. plans to send Canada 1.5M vaccine doses
Ontario Premier Doug Ford reacted to a report Thursday that the United States plans to send Canada 1.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, calling it “fabulous news.”
Ford has previously pressed the U.S. to assist Canada by sending vaccines. The U.S. has had a much faster vaccine rollout than Canada thus far.
“God bless America. They’re coming to our rescue,” Ford said in an unrelated press conference Thursday afternoon.
“Thank God. I’ve been bugging Trump, I’ve been bugging Biden — all of them. They must get sick of Doug Ford asking for help.”
In January, shortly before President Joe Biden’s inauguration, Ford made a public plea for help amid a shortage of doses in Canada.
Ford says he is open to loosening some dining, gym rules in Toronto and Peel Region
Premier Doug Ford says he is open to loosening restrictions in two Ontario hotspots to allow outdoor restaurant dining and fitness.
Ford says he would approve changes to the province’s pandemic framework to adjust restrictions for Toronto and Peel Region if Ontario’s top doctor felt the move was safe.
Toronto won’t rule out outdoor haircuts, but some salons say it would be difficult
As Toronto approaches four months of strict pandemic measures that have kept hair salons shuttered, health officials in the city say they aren’t ruling out allowing haircuts and other such services to resume outdoors.
Toronto’s top doctor, Eileen de Villa, said this week that while the focus so far has been on outdoor dining and fitness, health officials are open to considering other activities that could take place outside.
Status of cases in the GTA
Ontario reported a total of 1,553 new coronavirus cases on Thursday.
Of those:
- 404 were in Toronto
- 294 were in Peel Region
- 176 were in York Region
- 85 were in Durham Region
- 38 were in Halton Region
Ontario reports 1,553 new coronavirus cases, 15 more deaths
Ontario reported 1,553 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the provincial total to 323,509.
Thursday’s case count is higher than Wednesday’s, which saw 1,508 new infections. On Tuesday, 1,074 new cases were recorded.
The death toll in the province has risen to 7,202 as 15 more deaths were recorded.
Active cases in Ontario now stand at 12,814 — up from the previous day when it was at 12,512.
The government said 58,560 tests were processed in the last 24 hours.
Over 58K more vaccines administered in Ontario
As of 8 p.m. Wednesday, 1,359,453 COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered in Ontario, marking an increase of 58,119 over 24 hours.
So far, 292,269 people in the province are considered to be fully vaccinated.
— With files from The Canadian Press