Top COVID-19 stories and news
- City to fast-track modular housing for homeless people
- Inside the ICU at the hospital that became ground zero for the GTA’s COVID-19 outbreak
- Condo residents question plan to house homeless people in midtown
- Essential workers on the risks and rewards of working through the pandemic
- Can apartments and condos ban “non-essential” visitors and deliveries?
Follow the latest Toronto news on coronavirus
7:40 pm Toronto changes how it reports COVID-19 cases
Toronto Public Health is changing how it reports COVID-19 cases “to better align with the Province of Ontario’s reporting schedule,” the city said in a statement today.
As such, there were no new number reported for Toronto today. The city will resume reporting new data on Monday. As of May 2, there are 5,967 cases in Toronto and 398 people have died.
1:11 pm Health Canada restricts use of rapid portable COVID-19 test kits
Health Canada is limiting the use of a rapid COVID-19 test to research labs after the National Microbiology Laboratory found the device did not perform well with patients.
During a news conference on Sunday, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam said Ottawa-based Spartan Bioscience’s portable test kit was approved by Health Canada on April 11 on an interim order as part of the government’s move to accelerate access to new forms of COVID-19 testing.
However, Tam said the device, which is the size of a coffee cup, still had to be validated in clinical – or real-life – settings. Although the test kit performed well in labs, she said it did not perform well when used on patients at clinical sites in three provinces.
“It may be related to the proprietary swab that goes with the system,” she said. “What Health Canada is doing is to amend the authorized intended use for research use only so that more clinical validation can be done once the manufacturer adjusts its system.”
Read more here.
11:50 am Canada is forming a PPE supply council as lockdown measures ease
With lockdown measures easing in provinces across Canada, the federal government is establishing a COVID-19 supply council that will find “innovative solutions” to ensure the country has enough personal protective equipment (PPE).
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today the country still needs a reliable supply for masks and ventilators, but also more PPE for the private sector as businesses reopen and face masks become the new normal.
Asked if face masks will be a requirement when work places reopen, Trudeau said specific physical distancing rules will depend on the jurisdiction. Masks will be needed in work places where “full social distancing” is not possible.
“I’m certain we’re going to see more people wearing masks,” he said.
11:25 am Trudeau announces $240M expansion of virtual health care
The federal government will spend over $240 million to expand online health care, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today. The money will fund the expansion of existing platforms and create new virtual platforms for mental health and primary care.
Details of the plan have yet to be released, but Trudeau said the aim is make it easier for Canadians to receive health care via telehealth services so “hospitals stay focused on those who need it most.”
“If we can use apps to order dinner and video chats to stay in touch with family, we can use technology to keep each other healthy,” he said.
Asked if the funding would be transferred to the provinces, Trudeau said: “That money is for online care and mental health services that will be available at various levels and there will be money for the provinces as well.”
The prime minister also said the government is giving Vancouver-based AbCellera to fund a “very promising” antibody therapy that could be used to treat the virus. Trudeau said human trials could begin as early as July.
11 am Fourth Ontario health-care worker dies of COVID-19
A fourth health-care worker in Ontario has died of COVID-19. Services Employees International Union Healthcare identified the worker as Sharon Roberts, a personal support worker at Downsview Long Term Care in North York. She died on Friday after testing positive for COVID-19.
Roberts is the third personal support worker to die from COVID-19 in the past month.
“This news is heartbreaking and we offer our most heartfelt condolences and support to their family and friends during this incredibly difficult time,” the home said in a statement. “At this time, the cause of death is being determined, but the employee had tested positive for COVID-19.”
As of 9 am on Friday, 56 residents and 46 employees had tested positive for COVID-19 at Downsview Long Term Care Home.
10:40 am Ontario reports 434 new COVID-19 cases, 40 deaths
After a spike yesterday, Ontario’s new COVID-19 cases have increased by 2.5 per cent. Public health officials have reported 434 new cases since the previous day, bringing the provincial total to 17,553.
Additionally, 40 more people have died from COVID-19. Of those deaths, 12 were residents of long-term care homes. In total, 1,216 people have died since the outbreak began.
The number of resolved cases is 12,005 – or two-thirds of the province’s overall cases – and 1,010 patients are in hospital, with 232 in intensive care and 174 in intensive care on ventilators.
Testing capacity continues to increase. There were 17,146 tests conducted since the previous report and 9,785 cases are under investigation. In all, 327,505 tests have been completed in Ontario.
10 am Canada has over 56,000 cases of COVID-19
There are 56,741 cases of COVID-19 in Canada and 3,566 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.
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