The City of Toronto continues to respond to COVID-19. Today, Mayor John Tory, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, and Fire Chief and General Manager of the Office of Emergency Management Matthew Pegg provided an update on the City’s measures to combat the resurgence of the virus in Toronto. Today’s message was clear: all people in Toronto should be staying home whenever possible, only going out for essential activities like work that cannot be done from home, attending school and getting fresh air and exercise.
There are 33,322 cases of COVID-19 in the city, an increase of 500 new cases today. There are 164 people hospitalized. In total, 27,773 people have recovered from COVID-19. To date, there have been 1,432 COVID-19 deaths in Toronto. Case status data can be found on the City’s reporting platform.
Contract tracing is a key part of the City’s response to COVID-19. The Toronto Public Health contact tracing team is exceeding its target, contacting more than 90 per cent of the people with new COVID-19 infections within 24 hours of their receiving a positive test result. The team has also launched automated platforms that help reach people quickly and gather information and a notification system that draws from venue and business visitor and customer logs – further increasing the value of comprehensive logging by establishments. Using the notification system, Toronto Public Health has reached out to almost 600 people, with a success rate of 96.7 per cent.
The City’s enforcement team is preparing to enforce the new COVID-19 protections coming into effect this Saturday. The team’s goal remains protecting the health and safety of everyone in Toronto and educating the public and businesses on the new legislation. The team works to help businesses and individuals understand shifting regulations, using discretion to issue fines and penalties for continued or deliberate non-compliance. The City is working to update toronto.ca/covid-19 with information about the changes to regulations.
All people in Toronto should be adopting steps for self-protection. Dr. de Villa recommends individuals only leave their homes for essential activities. As much as possible, residents are asked to limit contact with people not in the same household, keep at least six feet apart from people not in the same household and wear a mask when outside of their homes, especially in indoor settings and when physical distancing is difficult. Residents should wash hands frequently and remain at home when ill.
Toronto Public Health also encourages residents to download the COVID Alert app, which can help to notify individuals who are exposed to COVID-19 in the community.
The City’s website is updated daily with the latest health advice and information about City services, social supports and economic recovery measures. Check toronto.ca/covid-19 for answers to common questions before contacting the Toronto Public Health COVID-19 Hotline or 311.
Quotes:
“My message today is very blunt and very simple: please stay home. Please don’t socialize with people you don’t live with. Please don’t have people over. Please stay home – except if you have to go to work or school, pick up essentials, or exercise. If you have to go to work or school, please go directly there and back, keep your distance and wear a mask. If you can work or study from home, please do. And please wash your hands, wear a mask and get tested if you have symptoms. I am asking you as Mayor, as directly as I can, stay home as much as possible right now.”
– Mayor John Tory
“COVID-19 cases are high in Toronto and without proper protections, we’re all at risk of infection. We have the science that tells us how to limit virus spread, and we can control this if we’re disciplined in how we spend our time, who we spend it with and if we keep following steps for self-protection. We have the hope of getting our city back, with the promise of a vaccine and by continuing to do our part. Please be one of those people who is doing whatever you can to help us come through this pandemic and starve COVID-19 of its ability to spread.”
– Dr. Eileen de Villa, Medical Officer of Health
“An effective case and contact tracing system is critical to controlling the spread of COVID-19 in our city. That’s why the team at Toronto Public Health has been working around the clock to enhance case and contact tracing, including launching new tools like the automated contact management system, which will help reach people who may have been exposed to COVID-19 even more quickly through texts and voicemails. We will continue to scale up our work to meet our goal of having one of the best case and contract tracing systems in the world, and to ensure we are doing everything we can to keep Torontonians safe.”
– Councillor Joe Cressy (Spadina-Fort York), Chair of the Toronto Board of Health
Toronto is home to more than 2.9 million people whose diversity and experiences make this great city Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities. As the fourth largest city in North America, Toronto is a global leader in technology, finance, film, music, culture and innovation, and consistently places at the top of international rankings due to investments championed by its government, residents and businesses. For more information visit the City’s website or follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.