COVID-19: Latest developments in the Greater Toronto Area on April 12

Here are the latest developments on the COVID-19 pandemic in the Greater Toronto Area for Monday.

Three more City-run vaccination clinics will open in Toronto on Monday,  joining the other six currently operating.

Cloverdale Mall, North Toronto Memorial Community Centre and Carmine Stefano Community Centre will have appointments available for people born in 1961 or earlier, as well as residents aged 50 or older who live in hot spot neighbourhoods.

As of Sunday, Toronto officials said 244,155 people have booked vaccine appointments.

The other six locations are at the following: Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto Congress Centre, Scarborough Town Centre, Malvern Community Recreation Centre, Mitchell Field Arena, and The Hangar.

To book a vaccine, click here.

The University Health Network is accepting vaccine registration for those aged 18 to 49 in three postal codes.

The affected neighbourhoods are M5V, M6E, and M6H.

Last week, the Ontario government announced that health units would work to vaccinate those aged 18+ in some hot spots through mobile clinics.

Canada Post says an employee at a facility in Toronto’s east end has died following a recent COVID-19 outbreak.

“Canada Post can confirm that an employee at our Toronto mail processing plant on Eastern Avenue has passed away,” a spokesperson for Canada Post said.

“We offer our deepest sympathies to the family as they mourn the loss and respect their privacy during this difficult time. We are focused on supporting our employees who have lost a colleague.”

2:08 Employee at Toronto Canada Post facility dies from COVID-19

Porter Airlines is once more pushing back its tentative date for resuming flights.

The airline, which has delayed its restart date several times during the pandemic, now plans to resume flying on June 21.

Porter chief executive Michael Deluce says the airline is looking ahead to summer and preparing for the possibility of some travel restrictions unwinding.

Timothy Sauve was brushing his teeth one morning in December when he was hit by a dizzy spell that knocked him off his feet.

The 61-year-old from Mississauga didn’t expect that to be the first sign of a COVID-19 infection. But within days he had developed a fever, experienced breathlessness in his sleep, and was rushed to hospital with a deteriorating condition that eventually required a double-lung transplant — believed to be the first done in Canada on a patient whose lungs were irreparably damaged by the virus.

Sauve, a healthy, physically fit man before he contracted the virus, saw the infection wreak havoc on his lungs over his two-month stay in the intensive care units of two different Toronto-area hospitals.

Students will be staying in remote learning indefinitely following the April Break as the province continues to see record-breaking COVID-19 case and ICU numbers, the Ontario government says.

Ontario students were supposed to return to in-person learning after taking the week off for their delayed March Break.

1:29 Ontario schools moving to virtual learning amid record-high COVID-19 cases: Doug Ford

Ontario reported 4,401 new coronavirus cases on Monday.

Of those:

• 1,282 were in Toronto
• 772 were in Peel Region
• 564 were in York Region
• 224 were in Durham Region
• 177 were in Halton Region

2:04 GTA hospitals to shut down in-patient pediatric units and send children to SickKids

• GTA hospitals to shut down in-patient pediatric units and send children to SickKids
• Toronto modelling predicts 2,500 daily COVID-19 cases by April’s end
• City of Toronto allocating $5.5 million to address vaccine hesitancy

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Monday’s case count is the second-highest single-day increase since the pandemic began, only slightly lower than Sunday’s which saw 4,456 new cases.  The provincial total stands at 391,009.

The death toll in the province has risen to 7,567 as 15 more deaths were recorded.

Resolved cases increased by 2,445 from the previous day. The government said 47,929 tests were processed in the last 24 hours.

Ontario reported 1,646 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 (up by 133 from the previous day) with an all-time high of 619 patients in intensive care units (up by 14), 408 of whom are in ICUs on a ventilator (up by 26).

As of 8 p.m. on Sunday, 3,214,465 total COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered. That marks an increase of 74,722 vaccines in the last day. There are 333,419 people fully vaccinated.

Officials have listed breakdown data for the new VOCs (variants of concern) detected so far in the province which consist of the B.1.1.7 (first detected in the United Kingdom), B.1.351 (first detected in South Africa), and P.1 (first detected in Brazil).

The B.1.1.7 VOC is currently the dominating variant strain at 16,540 cases, which is up by 2,153 since the previous day. There have also been 81 confirmed B.1.351 variant cases, which is up by three, and 140 P.1 variant cases, which is up by six.

According to the Ministry of Long-Term Care, there have been 3,755 deaths reported among residents and patients in long-term care homes across Ontario, which is unchanged.

There are 41 current outbreaks in homes, which is also unchanged.

The ministry also indicated there are currently 24 active cases among long-term care residents and 120 active cases among staff — up by one and up by three, respectively, in the last day.

— With files from The Canadian Press

2:09 COVID-19: Ontario schools moving to online learning after April break

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