1,087 new Covid-19 cases reported in Ontario

Ontario today reported 1,087 new cases of Covid-19 while 13 people lost battle taking the overall death toll to 6,861 since the pandemic started. Breakdown wise, there were 344 new cases in Toronto, 156 in Peel and 122 in York Region. The new case number is lower than the net caseload from yesterday. York region will be transitioning out of lockdown into the Red zone that begins tomorrow. Going into the Red Zone means social gatherings of five people will be permitted inside, along with 25 people outside. The non-essential businesses can open with 50% capacity and the restaurants can open to 10 people for indoor dining with physical distancing. The other hot spots including Toronto, Peel and North Bay Parry Sound will all remain under stay-at-home order until at least March, 8. While the Peel and Toronto regions have seen a reduction in COVID-19 transmission from the period of February 8 to 17, 2021, rates still remain too high in the regions, with case rates of 83.4 cases per 100,000 people for Peel and 67.9 cases per 100,000 people for Toronto, both well above the provincial average. During this same period of time, North Bay Parry Sound District has also seen its case rate increase by 11.5 per cent to 14.6 cases per 100,000 people. Variants of concern also remain a serious risk to community transmission and health system capacity.

As per the Government data, The Ontario government has administered over 500,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines to Phase One priority populations, which now includes adults 80 years of age and older.

Meanwhile, there is some encouraging news on the COVID-19 from the province of Quebec. The province is continuing its downward trend and new infections as it reported 666 new cases today. Today’s caseload marks the lowest single-day increase for the province in months, Quebec also added, sadly 15 more deaths, including seven in the past 24 hours.