COVID-19: Ontario reports second-highest daily case count on record

April 9, 2021

A photo of a pop-up COVID-19 vaccine clinic in the courtyard of a Thorncliffe Park high-rise apartment building on April 8

Top COVID-19 stories and news

Here’s the list of people eligible for vaccines in Phase 2

Here’s the list of third wave shutdown restrictions in Ontario

Eight questions answered on the AstraZeneca controversy

City urges people to stay close to home when getting exercise

6:20 pm Toronto is entering the first weekend under the new province-wide stay-at-home order, meaning residents are being told to stay at home and only go out for essential reasons. Outdoor gatherings are limited to five people or less and people who do not live together must practice physical distancing.

City officials are also asking people to only exercise or go for walks close to home.

“The City is also asking that people not drive or commute to an outdoor destination. There are over 1,500 parks across Toronto, giving most residents options to get outdoors close to home,” the city said in a statement. “Please only visit local parks or go for a walk in your neighbourhood. Those arriving at a local park and finding that it is overcrowded are asked to return later when there are fewer people. All people must be vigilant and follow the regulations to protect the health and safety of Toronto communities and stop the latest wave of COVID-19 from overwhelming our healthcare system.”

Toronto reports record-high COVID-19 increase

6:15 pm The city of Toronto has reported the highest single-day increase in new COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began. In the past day, Toronto has recorded 1,304 new infections.

“This record increase in cases, made more serious by the continued spread of dangerous variants of concern, shows how important it is that everyone in Toronto and across the province stay home to keep each other safe,” the city said in a statement.

To date, there have been 121,803 cases of COVID-19 in the city.

There are 488 people hospitalized in Toronto. To date, the virus has killed 2,842 people in the city and 108,754 people have recovered from COVID-19.

Michael Garron Hospital setting up pop-up clinics in East Toronto

2:30 pm Five pop-up COVID-19 vaccine clinics will run in Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park to April 11, Michael Garron Hospital said this week.

The locations are: Flemingdon Park Shopping Centre, Masjid Darussalam Thorncliffe Mosque, Iqbal Halal Foods and lobbies and courtyards of select high-rise apartment buildings.

“Clinic dates and times are being promoted locally by community organizations in these neighbourhoods,” the hospital said.

Residents of Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park who are 18 and older are eligible. No appointment is necessary, but residents must bring proof of address, such as a driver’s license, utility bill or another piece of ID or document that indicates they live in M4H and M3C postal codes. More info here.

People 50+ in hot spot areas can book vaccine appointments starting today

2:06 pm Toronto residents age 50 and older living in 53 hot spot neighbourhoods can now book vaccine appointments online. The province has expanded eligibility based on age and postal code (see below tweet for the list) as part of the stay-at-home order that began yesterday.

Additionally, Premier Doug Ford said earlier this week that all people age 18 and up who live in areas with the highest COVID-19 transmission rates will be eligible to be vaccinated via mobile clinics. Details around when the mobile clinics will take place and how to book will be announced at a later day, the city said on Friday.

People aged 55 and up are eligible to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine at pharmacies.

Toronto residents who do not live in a COVID-19 hot spot and are aged 60 and up are eligible to be vaccinated at city-run immunization clinics.

For the complete list of populations that are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine via hospital-run clinics, go here.

To date, 684,809 vaccine doses have been administered in Toronto.

Search for a clinic location in your area here.

NEW TODAY: Residents 50+ years of age in 53 hot spot areas, as identified by postal code, can now book their #COVID19 vaccination appts at a #CityOfTO clinic. List of postal codes and other eligibility criteria: https://t.co/GSTh5NyRH8 pic.twitter.com/q8CQeJhaps
— City of Toronto (@cityoftoronto) April 9, 2021

Ontario reports 4,227 new COVID-19 cases, 18 deaths

11:50 am Ontario is reporting 4,227 new cases of COVID-19 on April 9, the second-highest case count the province has ever seen.

The highest record for daily case counts was on January 8 during the second wave with 4,249 cases, though there were unreported cases included in the count that day.

A high of 1,218 cases were reported in Toronto, along with 762 in Peel and 532 in York Region. The provincial seven-day rolling average jumped to 3,256.

An additional 105,382 doses of the vaccine were administered in the past day, bringing the provincial total to 2,940,166.

The province completed 61,140 tests in the past 24 hours, marking a positivity rate of 6.9 per cent.

Active cases in Ontario stand at 29,627, up over 1,000 from the day before.

There are currently 1,492 patients hospitalized and 552 patients in intensive care, with 359 of those patients on ventilators. Patients with COVID-19 in the ICU are at the highest level the province have seen so far throughout the pandemic.

An additional 18 deaths have been reported, including two between the ages of 40 and 59.

Another 1,860 confirmed cases of B117 have been reported, along with one more B1351 case and two more P1 cases.

To date, there have been 378,339 total cases of COVID-19 and 7,512 deaths in Ontario.