News Release
June 12, 2020

A key role of public health in the battle against COVID-19 is to use current evidence and local data to inform decisions about interventions and measures to keep residents safe and healthy. Today, as progress towards reopening continues to be monitored, the City of Toronto is pleased to launch a new COVID-19 monitoring dashboard. This new dashboard will provide a progress assessment for the local COVID-19 response.

There are 13,149 cases of COVID-19 in the city, an increase of 86 cases since yesterday. There are 310 people hospitalized, with 73 in ICU. In total 10,717 people have recovered from COVID-19, an increase of 159 cases since yesterday. To date, there have been 973 COVID-19 deaths in Toronto. Case status data can be found on the City’s reporting platform.

The City’s COVID-19 response is grounded by three key objectives: to prevent loss of life, preserve the capacity of the health system and minimize social, economic and broader health impacts. This dashboard summarizes the current local situation using a core set of indicators that align with Ontario’s provincial framework for reopening:

  1. Virus spread and containment: Refers to COVID-19 case growth, the number of local outbreaks and illness severity. These indicators ensure that public health measures fit with local circumstances.
  2. Laboratory testing and lab testing trends: While lab testing is overseen by the Province, these indicators refer to lab testing trends in Toronto, including the processing time for COVID-19 tests and the proportion of tests that are positive.  This is a critical part of Toronto Public Health’s response as it focuses on timely identification of cases and the ability to rapidly detect increases in COVID-19 activity.
  3. Health system capacity: Refers to indicators monitoring acute and critical care capacity. These indicators ensure that Toronto Public Health is monitoring the health system’s capacity and prepared, in the event of a resurgence in cases.
  4. Public health system capacity: These indicators monitor how quickly Toronto Public Health is following up on positive COVID-19 cases and their close contacts.

These categories will be assigned either a Red, Yellow, or Green colour to reflect their current state and status.

  • Green: is assigned when indicators have met their goals.
  • Yellow: is assigned when indicators have not yet met their goals, but may be moving towards or just trending away from the goal, and still require attention.
  • Red: is assigned when indicators are consistently moving away from, or not meeting their goal.

The COVID-19 monitoring dashboard will provide the public with a current summary on how the city is progressing in the response to COVID-19, as Toronto moves to recovery. It will also help Toronto Public Health to carefully monitor COVID-19 activity and adjust actions if the local situation changes.

Residents are also reminded that provincial Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act orders and the City bylaw on physical distancing remain in effect. The City’s COVID-19 enforcement team remains focused on providing education about the physical distancing bylaw and provincial orders. Yesterday, the City received 77 complaints involving people using outdoor amenities or not practising physical distancing in parks or squares. Bylaw officers issued 10 tickets. This month, bylaw and police officers have spoken to more than 3,000 people in City parks about the closures and public health measures.

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:

“I want to thank Dr. de Villa and the Toronto Public Health team for developing this new monitoring dashboard for the public. It will provide residents with an up-to-date summary on how our collective efforts are progressing locally and will help inform Toronto’s Public Health’s actions as the local situation changes. This dashboard is going to be important as we move forward through the restart and recovery of our city. It shows in detail how vigilant public health will be in keeping watch on COVID-19 in our community so that we can continue to save lives and protect the health of our residents.”
– Mayor John Tory

“As we prepare to re-open our city we need to make sure that the appropriate public health systems are in place to protect our residents. That’s where our new COVID-19 Monitoring Dashboard comes in because it tells us where we’re doing well and where we need to improve. Making this information publicly available is important not only for informing key decisions going forward, but also for ensuring transparency and public trust.”
– Councillor Joe Cressy (Ward 10 Spadina-Fort York), Toronto Board of Health Chair

“I am pleased to launch this new COVID-19 monitoring dashboard today and share that we are making good progress towards our COVID-19 response goals.  While COVID-19 has had a significant impact on all of us, we have averted what could have been much worse.  As a result of your efforts, we have recently begun to see a reduction in new cases and hospitalizations.  I look forward to keeping our city updated on our progress as we move forward with reopening our city.”
– Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s Medical Officer 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 toronto.ca or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CityofToronto, on Instagram at instagram.com/cityofto or on Facebook at facebook.com/cityofto.

Lenore Bromley
Toronto Public Health
416-338-7974