Here are the latest developments on the COVID-19 pandemic in the Greater Toronto Area for Monday:
City of Toronto reaches COVID-19 vaccine milestone
City officials said on Tuesday that Toronto has reached 65 per cent vaccine coverage — of at least one dose — as it nears almost two million COVID-19 vaccine shots.
So far, a total of 1,986,966 doses have been administered.
“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,” officials said.
Officials said as of Monday evening, about 718,648 people have booked a COVID-19 vaccination appointments at a City-run clinic.
Ontarians who received 1st AstraZeneca vaccine mid-March can book 2nd shot
Ontario residents who received a first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in mid-March will be able to book their second shot this week as the province seeks to use up its stockpile before it expires.
The province’s top doctor said last week that those who got their first jab of AstraZeneca between March 10 and March 19 during a pilot project at some pharmacies and doctors’ offices will be prioritized for the second dose.
Ontario reports 1st fatal case of rare blood clot after man received AstraZeneca vaccine
The Ontario government has reported the first fatal case of an extremely rare blood clot that has been detected in a small number of residents who received the AstraZeneca/COVISHEILD COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario’s associate chief medical officer of health, made the announcement during a news conference at Queen’s Park Tuesday afternoon.
She said a man in his 40s developed vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) after receiving his first dose of the vaccine at the end of April and died a few weeks later.
Ontarians will be able to get receipt of 1st, 2nd COVID-19 vaccinations online Tuesday
The Ontario government says residents will be able to access proof of their COVID-19 vaccination online starting Tuesday.
Ontarians will be able to log in to the provincial portal at Ontario.ca to get a PDF copy of their vaccination receipt for both their first and second shots.
Residents can access the receipt by logging in to “book a vaccine” with their health card information and an option will appear that says “Vaccination receipts: Download and view receipts for your COVID-19 vaccinations.”
Ontario’s chief medical officer wants in-person schooling to resume before provincial reopening
Ontario’s top doctor said Tuesday he would like to see students return to their classrooms before the province starts reopening in mid-June.
Dr. David Williams made the comments on the same day as a group of researchers studying the effects of the pandemic on children warned of “a generational catastrophe.”
Status of cases in the GTA
Ontario reported 1,039 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday.
Of those:
- 419 were in Toronto
- 231 were in Peel Region
- 77 were in York Region
- 60 were in Durham Region
- 38 were in Halton Region
Ontario reports 1,446 new COVID-19 cases Victoria Day, just over 1,000 Tuesday
Ontario is reporting 1,446 new COVID-19 cases on Victoria Day Monday and 1,039 on Tuesday. The provincial total now stands at 524,950.
The province released two sets of data due to the holiday.
Tuesday’s case count is the lowest daily increase since March 6, as daily cases continue to trend downwards. Although testing volumes were well below normal over the last two days relative to daily totals, test positivity remained at a level seen over the last two weeks.
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), and P.1 (first detected in Brazil).
The B.1.1.7 VOC is currently the dominating strain at 120,130 confirmed cases, which is up by 985 since the previous day. There have been 817 confirmed B.1.351 variant cases, which is up by nine, and 2,462 P.1 variant cases, which is up by 40.
Cases, deaths and outbreaks in Ontario long-term care homes
According to the Ministry of Long-Term Care, there have been 3,771 deaths reported among residents and patients in long-term care homes across Ontario, which is an increase of one death since yesterday. Thirteen virus-related deaths in total have been reported among staff.
There are 35 current outbreaks in homes, which is unchanged.
The ministry also indicated there are currently 51 active cases among long-term care residents 102 active cases among staff — down by one and unchanged, respectively, in the last day.
— With files from The Canadian Press