Here are the latest developments on the COVID-19 pandemic in the Greater Toronto Area for Monday:
Ontario expands COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to everyone 18 and up, starting Tuesday
The acceleration for age eligibility was due to a large supply of vaccines scheduled to arrive in Canada this week.
Originally, people aged 18 and older across all of Ontario were scheduled to be able to book on May 24, but will now be able to book an appointment for a shot six days earlier.
Status of cases in the GTA
Ontario reported 2,170 new COVID-19 cases on Monday:
Of those:
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- 566 were in Toronto
- 556 were in Peel Region
- 215 were in York Region
- 120 were in Durham Region
- 91 were in Halton Region
60% of Toronto adults have received 1 of 2 COVID-19 vaccine doses
City of Toronto officials say as of Monday, 60 per cent of all adults in the city have received at least one out of the two required COVID-19 vaccine doses (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or Oxford-AstraZeneca).
“Team Toronto has reached this goal thanks to a vaccination network that includes the City, Toronto Public Health, hospitals, pharmacies, Ontario Health Teams, Local Health Integration Networks, community clinics, primary care physicians and community groups – a network of more than 350 vaccination partners,” a statement issued Monday afternoon said.
The news came a day ahead of the Ontario government’s plan to open vaccine bookings to residents 18 and older in the province.
9 charged after party inside downtown Toronto bar, police say
Toronto police say nine people have been charged under the Ontario government’s COVID-19 emergency orders after an indoor party was discovered at a downtown bar.
A spokesperson told Global News officers came across a party of about 25 people inside Baro Toronto on King Street West, west of Spadina Avenue, at around 5:45 p.m. on Sunday.
After officers arrived, the group inside left but nine people were ultimately charged.
The spokesperson said police are now working with Toronto Public Health and the City of Toronto’s municipal licensing and standards division to determine the next steps.
Ontario reports more than 2,100 new COVID-19 cases, 4 deaths
Ontario is reporting 2,170 new COVID-19 cases on Monday. The provincial total now stands at 511,486.
The death toll in the province has risen to 8,489 as four more deaths were recorded — the lowest number of daily deaths recorded since March.
Resolved cases increased by 2,953 from the previous day. The government said 24,498 tests were processed in the last 24 hours, which is the lowest number of daily tests in several months.
More than 7.1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far. That marks an increase of 112,330 vaccines in the last day. There are 432,760 people fully vaccinated with two doses.
Variants of concern in Ontario
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), P.1 (first detected in Brazil), as well as mutations that have no determined lineage.
The B.1.1.7 VOC is currently the dominating known strain at 108,801 variant cases, which is up by 1,260 since the previous day, 679 B.1.351 variant cases which is up by two, and 2,021 P.1 variant cases which is up by 38.
Cases, deaths and outbreaks in Ontario long-term care homes
According to the Ministry of Long-Term Care, there have been 3,765 deaths reported among residents and patients in long-term care homes across Ontario which is an unchanged since yesterday. Thirteen virus-related deaths in total have been reported among staff.
There are 34 current outbreaks in homes, which is down by two from the previous day.
The ministry also indicated there are currently 47 active cases among long-term care residents and 110 active cases among staff — down by nine and down by eight, respectively, in the last day.
NOTE: This page will be updated throughout the day.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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