Top COVID-19 stories and news
- In Toronto, many small businesses can’t afford to wait for government relief
- Deaths shine a light on precarious work in long-term care homes
- The pandemic is financially blindsiding millennials
- Strike ups pressure on TTC to protect drivers
- Toronto pandemics past: Typhoid and a tale of death in the water
Follow the latest Toronto news on coronavirus
5:14 pm TTC union demands mass testing after outbreak in Queensway garage
The union representing TTC workers is demanding Toronto Public Health (TPH) test all workers in the transit agency’s Queensway division after four workers there tested positive for COVID-19.
Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 113 president Carols Santos said in a statement that he wants TPH to send a mobile health unit to the Queensway garage “to test every worker who was in contact with the four individuals who have tested positive and the four individuals who now have symptoms.
The TTC has reported 21 positive cases among employees.
5:10 pm Toronto has more than 3,500 cases of COVID-19
There are 3,546 cases of COVID-19 in Toronto as of 4:30 pm on Sunday. There have been 184 recoveries and 173 people have died. There are 77 outbreaks in institutional settings.
Nearly 27 per cent of the city’s cases are attributed to community spread.
2:07 pm Toronto starts mapping out city “restart” plan
Mayor John Tory said he met with city officials on Saturday to map out how to “restart” the city following the coronavirus pandemic lockdown.
In a statement, the mayor cautioned that Toronto is not ready to reopen yet and could not give a specific time for when measures would be eased.
“When exactly we restart the city depends on each and every one of us. We are not there yet,” he wrote. “These efforts that so many of you are taking right now to stop the spread of COVID-19 will bring that restart as soon as safely possible.”
Tory added that planning is taking place now so that officials will be ready to communicate necessary steps ahead of time.
The plan will be guided by Toronto Public Health. “There is no ‘on/off switch,'” he added. “The plan will have to take a phased approach.”
Last week, Tory said the pandemic is expected to cost the city at least $1.5 billion in lost revenue and urged the province and federal government to help Toronto make up the financial shortfall.
11 am Ontario’s COVID-19 cases go up by 568
The number of COVID-19 cases in Ontario went up by 568 – or 5.7 per cent – to 10,578 since the previous day’s report, public health officials said. There have been 533 deaths and 5,209 cases have been resolved.
The Greater Toronto Area account for 57.4 per cent of cases and there are 112 outbreaks in long-term care homes.
There are 809 patients in hospital, with 247 in intensive care and 196 in intensive care on ventilators.
In terms of testing, 9,643 tests were conducted since the previous report, bringing the total tests carried out in Ontario to 156,097.
10:50 am Airline passengers must wear non-medical masks
The federal government will require all air passengers to wear a non-medical mask or face covering to cover their mouth and nose when travelling. Effective at noon on April 20, passengers will be asked to cover their nose and mouth at airport screening checkpoints or in situations when they cannot physically distance from others.
Transportation minister Marc Garneau announced the measures on Friday. Airline passengers departing or arriving at Canadian airports will have to prove they have a non-medical mask or face covering during the boarding process or they will not be allowed to board.
10:45 am Canada has over 33,000 cases of COVID-19
There are 33,922 cases of COVID-19 in Canada and 1,506 people have died.
The outbreak is a serious public health threat though most people who contract the virus have not been hospitalized.
Symptoms include cough, fever, difficulty breathing and pneumonia in both lungs and may take up to 14 days to appear after exposure. People age 65 and over and people with compromised immune systems and/or underlying medical conditions have a higher risk of contracting a severe case.
