Here are the latest developments on the COVID-19 pandemic in the Greater Toronto Area for Wednesday.
Toronto requests that vaccine age requirement be lowered to 60+
Mayor John Tory says the City has requested that the province lower the age eligibility requirement to 60+ for COVID-19 vaccines at mass immunization clinics in Toronto.
Tory said he had a conversation with Premier Doug Ford about the request and added that the premier supported the idea.
“We hope to announce details of when this will happen very soon,” Tory said.
Tory said the request was made to the province because the City uses the provincial booking system for vaccines.
“This change will ensure that we continue to fill up all available appointments and work to get as many eligible people vaccinated as our supply allows throughout the holiday weekend and beyond,” Tory said.
Currently, Toronto’s mass immunization clinics are administering vaccines to those 70 and older.
Toronto administers more than 500,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses
The City of Toronto said on Wednesday it has surpassed the milestone of administering more than half a million COVID-19 vaccine doses, reaching 512,484 so far.
Toronto is the first health region in Ontario to perform more than 500,000 inoculations.
“As of yesterday evening, approximately 74,703 people have booked COVID-19 vaccination appointments at a City-run clinic,” officials said.
Peel Region opens vaccine bookings to those 65+
Peel Region has opened vaccine bookings to residents aged 65 and older.
In a news release issued Wednesday, officials said clinics at William Osler’s Chinguacousy Wellness Centre and Brampton Civic Hospital, Trillium Health Partners’ Mississauga Hospital, and the University of Toronto Mississauga campus are now taking bookings for appointments available as soon as next week.
“Booking for this age group will be available at Peel Public Health’s six vaccine clinics once the province releases this age group broadly,” the news release added.
“Vaccinations for residents aged 70 and older continue at Peel Public Health clinics.”
Police charge 27-year-old man for having Vaughan house party amid COVID-19
A 27-year-old man was charged after York Regional Police crashed a house party he was allegedly holding in Vaughan on Saturday.
Police said they responded to a home in the area of Weston Road south of Teston Road at around 1:30 a.m. after residents reported hearing loud noises and seeing tons of cars parked on the street.
Over 25 people were inside the home, with more people in the backyard and no one was wearing a mask, police said.
Announcement coming Thursday on possible new restrictions in Ontario: Doug Ford
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says an announcement will be made on Thursday regarding possible new COVID-19 restrictions amid rising cases and hospitalizations in the province.
Ford made the remarks when asked during a press conference Wednesday why his government has loosened restrictions recently despite worsening trends.
“Stay tuned. You’ll hear an announcement tomorrow but I’m very, very concerned to see the cases go up,” Ford said.
Status of cases in the GTA
Ontario reported a total of 2,333 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday.
Of those:
- 785 were in Toronto
- 433 were in Peel Region
- 222 were in York Region
- 120 were in Durham Region
- 50 were in Halton Region
Ontario reports more than 2,300 new cases, 15 deaths
Ontario is reporting 2,333 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, marking the seventh straight day with cases above 2,000, bringing the provincial total to 349,903.
The death toll in the province has risen to 7,366 as 15 more deaths were recorded.
Resolved cases increased by 1,973 from the previous day. The government said 52,532 tests were processed in the last 24 hours.
As of 8 p.m. on Tuesday, the provincial government reported administering 2,192,253 total COVID-19 vaccine doses, representing an increase of 89,873 in the last day, which is the most vaccines administered in the province in a day thus far. There are 315,820 people fully vaccinated with two doses.
Cases, deaths and outbreaks in Ontario long-term care homes
According to the Ministry of Long-Term Care, there have been 3,753 deaths reported among residents and patients in long-term care homes across Ontario, which has remained unchanged since March 19.
There are 43 current outbreaks in homes, which is a decrease of seven from the previous day.
The ministry also indicated there are currently 10 active cases among long-term care residents and 101 active cases among staff — up by one and up by 12, respectively, in the last day.
Cases among students and staff at Ontario schools, child care centres
Government figures show there have been a total of 13,060 school-related COVID-19 cases in Ontario to date. This is an increase of 332 more cases in the last day — 282 student cases and 50 staff cases.
The COVID-19 cases are currently from 1,199 out of 4,828 schools in the province, which is around 25 per cent of schools. Sixty-three schools in Ontario are currently closed as a result of positive cases, the government indicated.
There have been a total of 3,671 confirmed cases within child care centres and homes — an increase of 83 (54 new child cases and 29 staff cases). Out of 5,279 child care centres in Ontario, 355 currently have cases and 83 centres are closed.
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