Top COVID-19 stories and news
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- When and how each province is reopening across Canada
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Follow the latest Toronto news on coronavirus
4:55 pm Toronto reports 86 new cases, 11 deaths
Toronto now has 7,413 reported cases of COVID-19, an increase of 86 from Saturday’s tally of 7,251.
Of the total number of cases, 6,709 are confirmed and 704 are probable. The city added that 5,192 people have recovered so far. There are 429 people currently hospitalized, with 102 people in the ICU.
Yesterday, 11 deaths were reported, bringing the total to 578 deaths in Toronto.
3:30 pm North York nursing home sees 23 deaths in May
At least 23 residents of Downsview Long Term Care Centre in North York have died of COVID-19 since May 1. The total number of resident deaths at the facility is 33.
The four most recent deaths were confirmed Saturday by operator GEM Health Care Group.
Since an outbreak was first declared at the 252-bed home in mid-April, 59 residents and 74 staff members have tested positive for the virus.
Nursing homes and long-term care facilities have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, with more than 1,200 deaths in Ontario alone.
c12:50 pm Mayor says High Park will be opening “very, very soon”
In an interview with CP24, Mayor John Tory said High Park will be soon be reopening to the public.
After yesterday’s news that provincial parks will begin reopening tomorrow, the mayor was asked if the city would follow suit.
“The city parks have never been closed – what was closed within city parks was the amenities – the playgrounds, the fitness equipment,” Tory said.
He added that High Park was the exception, but that the park would reopen “very, very soon”.
The park has been closed to the public to avoid crowding during the spring cherry blossom season, with the city setting up a livestream of the trees in bloom.
12:10 pm Workers test positive at Christie and Dupont Loblaws
Loblaws has announced that “several team members” have tested positive for COVID-19 at its Dupont and Christie location.
In a letter to its newsletter subscribers Saturday, the store advised customers that the store had undergone deep cleaning overnight Friday night, in addition to “daily disinfectant protocols”, before reopening.
Loblaws said it had asked “potentially exposed” workers to stay home, and is communicating with Toronto Public Health to trace the outbreak.
11:35 am Ontario sees lowest case increase in six weeks
Ontario reported 294 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday – the lowest number of new cases in six weeks.
The last time Ontario saw fewer than 300 new daily cases was on March 31, when 260 new cases were reported. The number is down from 346 new cases on Friday.
The number of deaths also decreased – 35 on Saturday, compared to 59 on Friday.
The dip comes amid increased province-wide testing: Ontario carried out 17,618 COVID tests on Saturday.
Ontario’s total now stands at 20,238 cases, 14,772 recoveries and 1,634 deaths.
10:40 am Toronto Western Hospital declares fifth COVID-19 outbreak
Staff at Toronto Western Hospital have confirmed that the downtown hospital is experiencing another outbreak of COVID-19.
The news comes after hospital officials confirmed last week that outbreaks were found in four other areas of the hospital.
The latest outbreak was found in unit 9A, an area previously free of the virus. The area is now closed to new admissions. It is not known how many patients or staff have been affected by the new outbreak.
9 am Canada has over 67,000 cases of COVID-19
There are 67,702 cases of COVID-19 in Canada and 4,693 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.
