Here are the latest developments on the COVID-19 pandemic in the Greater Toronto Area for Sunday:
Vaccination clinic held at Toronto city hall
A COVID-19 vaccination clinic is being held at Toronto city hall on Sunday for residents aged 12 and older looking to get their first shot.
The clinic began operating at 10 a.m. and is scheduled to run until supplies run out.
Officials said no appointment is required. Those looking to get a shot need to bring proof of address.
Migrant workers are welcome and a health card isn’t needed, officials said.
Anti-vaccine protesters were seen at Nathan Phillips Square as the clinic was underway.
Woman urges mandatory COVID-19 vaccines for long-term care staff amid Vaughan outbreak
The daughter of one long-term care resident in Ontario says staff who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 pose a significant risk to those living within the homes, and is calling for mandatory shots for all workers.
Patricia Tomasi claims administration has told her that only around 60 per cent of staff at Maple Health Centre — where her mother lives — have received a shot so far.
“So now they’re causing outbreaks,” Tomasi said. “We’re getting emails every day from the home saying, ‘oh, more staff have COVID’ — So there continues to be an outbreak.”
Ontarians aged 12 and up now eligible to book vaccine
Ontarians aged 12 and up can now book COVID-19 vaccines through the provincial system.
They can book through the provincial online portal, call centre and through pharmacies offering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Status of cases in the GTA
Ontario reported 1,691 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday.
Of those:
- 455 were in Toronto
- 326 were in Peel Region
- 173 were in York Region
- 96 were in Durham Region
- 50 were in Halton Region
Ontario reports nearly 1,700 new cases, 15 deaths
Ontario reported 1,691 COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 522,465.
For comparison, last Sunday 2,199 cases were reported.
Fifteen new deaths were also announced on May 23, bringing the provincial death toll to 8,614.
Provincial figures showed there are 1,041 people hospitalized with the virus (down by 166), with 693 in intensive care due to COVID-19 (down by 13), 480 of whom are on a ventilator (down by 24).
However, the province noted that more than 10 per cent of hospitals did not submit their daily bed census for Sunday’s report — as is often the case on weekends — possibly causing the reported number of hospitalizations to be lower than it actually is.
No update on provincial COVID figures Monday
The Ontario government won’t be providing an update on provincial COVID-19 figures Monday with it being the Victoria Day holiday.
Monday’s figures will be available on Tuesday.
More than 140K additional vaccines administered in Ontario
As of Saturday evening, 8,065,607 COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered in Ontario, marking an increase of 140,330.
So far, 531,603 people in the province are considered to be fully vaccinated.
— With files from Hannah Jackson and The Canadian Press