Top COVID-19 stories and news
Ontario COVID-19 science table says schools can reopen safely
Ontario reduces interval for second vaccine doses
Ontario announces three-step reopening plan
Ontario schools to stay closed for in-person learning until September
1:45 pm Ontario elementary and secondary schools will not reopen for in-person learning in June, Premier Doug Ford said today.
At a Queen’s Park news conference, Ford said students would return to class in September.
Though some local public health officials and Ontario’s COVID-19 science table advised the premier that schools could safely reopen on a regional basis, Ford said vaccination numbers need to get higher and the fast-spreading B.1.617.2 – or delta – variant, which was first identified in India, is creating uncertain risk.
“We don’t have enough kids vaccinated, we don’t have enough teachers vaccinated – not to mention the second vaccination,” Ford said. “We’ve all heard the same thing from the docs: Indoors bad, outdoors good.”
He noted that the science table projected a six to 11 per cent increase in new COVID-19 cases if schools reopen in June.
Asked whether is misled the public by saying schools were safe to reopen in the past, he said the new variant means the situation is now different.
“We know the Indian variant is here. It’s taken hold. I think it would irresponsible to put two million kids in the classroom for eight hours a day and we know it’s gonna spread. Then they’re gonna bring it home. They’re gonna give it to their parents, they’re gonna give it to their family members, they’re gonna give it to their grandparents and here we go again. Back to stage two.”
Ford also repeated his calls for Ottawa to bring in stricter border measures and said Ontario’s close to 15 million population means the province is in a different scenario than other provinces that have reopened schools.
Earlier today, Peel Region’s Medical Officer of Health Lawrence Loh said B.1.617 is “quickly replacing” the B.1.1.7 variant, which led to the surge in cases during Ontario’s third wave.
He said preliminary analysis by the science table projects the variant will be in the dominant strain in Peel Region in one month and then in the rest of Ontario in the weeks after that. Loh said there are 97 cases of B.1.617 in Peel, including some cases spread through community transmission.
The premier was also asked whether the reopening plan would begin sooner than the week of June 14. Ford said he was hopeful but would base any such decision on the advice of Chief Medical Officer of Health David Williams.
In a news release, the province said it expects all youth aged 12 and over who want a first vaccine dose will have one before the end of June and a second dose by the end of August. Subject to supply, officials say all education workers will have a second dose by August 15.
Ontario schools have been closed to in-person learning since mid-April.
Ontario reports 733 new cases as seven-day average drops below 1,000
Ontario is reporting just over 700 new cases of COVID-19 on on June 2 as the seven-day moving average drops below the 1,000 mark.
10: 55 am The province confirmed a single-day increase of 733 cases and 25 more deaths, according to Ministry of Health data.
There were 699 new cases reported on Tuesday, 915 on Monday, 1,033 on Sunday, 1,057 on Saturday and 1,273 on Friday. The seven-day average is now 978, down from 1,622 last Wednesday. The last time the seven-day average dipped below 1,000 was last November.
Medical labs completed 31,678 tests in the past 24 hours, making for a positivity rate of 2.8 per cent. The rate last Wednesday was 5.3 per cent.
The virus has killed another 25 people in the province, bringing the death toll to 8,791. Today’s deaths include a long-term care home resident.
Toronto reported fewer than 200 cases for the first time since October 4.
“Locally, there are 173 new cases in Toronto, 134 in Peel, 69 in York Region and 66 in Hamilton,” Health Minister Christine Elliott said on Twitter.
There are now 708 patients in hospital, a drop of 96 in the past day. Of those patients, 576 are in the intensive care unit including 399 people breathing with the help of a ventilator.
Another 1,733 cases have resolved, bringing the total number of confirmed active cases in the province is 10,664.
As of 8 pm last night, the province administered 9,342,121 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. To date, 2,202,980 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been given in Toronto.
The province’s stay-at-home order expires today, however many pandemic restrictions will remain in place. The order asked Ontarians to stay at home and leave for essential reasons only.
Pandemic restrictions on gathering limits, restaurants, retail and other establishments continue until the three-stage reopening plan begins the week of June 14.
However, the order suspending the enforcement of residential evictions has expired, meaning evictions can now resume.
New COVID-19 cases in Ontario on June 2
The following regions reported five or more new COVID-19 cases:
Toronto = 173
Peel Region = 134
York Region = 69
Hamilton = 66
Durham Region = 40
Ottawa = 41
Middlesex-London = 36
Region of Waterloo = 29
Porcupine = 27
Simcoe Muskoka = 20
Halton Region = 18
Thunder Bay = 15
Windsor-Essex = 14
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph = 14
Brant County = 10
Huron Perth = 7
Lambton = 5
Southwestern = 5
