Ontario is reporting 2,005 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday and 18 more deaths linked to the virus.
Sunday’s figure marks the lowest number reported since Dec. 14, when 1,940 new COVID-19 cases were recorded.
Of the new cases, Health Minister Christine Elliott says 572 were recorded in Toronto, 331 in Peel Region, 207 in York Region and 140 in Windsor-Essex County.
Data regarding the number of tests completed from Dec. 24 to Dec. 26 was not made available by the province until Sunday afternoon. In a tweet, Elliott said 61,465 tests were completed on December 24, followed by 49,511 on Christmas Day and 41,783 on Boxing Day.
The province will not release new COVID-19 data on Monday or on Jan. 1. The health ministry says two reports will be posted on the next days after those dates.
Today’s numbers mark the thirteenth straight day Ontario has seen more than 2,000 new daily infections.
Meanwhile, a total of 823 people are hospitalized in Ontario due to COVID-19, including 285 in intensive care. Some 194 patients require a ventilator to help them breathe.
Today’s new cases bring the province’s seven-day average to 2,212. The new figure also brings Ontario’s cumulative case count to 171,416.
A handful of other areas that saw double-digit increases include:
Waterloo: 89.
Niagara: 83.
Halton: 80.
Hamilton: 74.
Durham: 71.
Middlesex-London: 53.
Ottawa: 49.
Simcoe Muskoka: 41.
Lambton: 37.
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph: 34.
Southwestern: 28.
Huron Perth: 20.
Eastern Ontario: 18.
Peterborough: 14.
Brant County: 11.
(Note: All of the figures used for new cases in this story are found on the Ontario Health Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard or in its daily epidemiologic summary. The number of cases for any region may differ from what is reported by the local public health unit because local units report figures at different times.)
Ontario identifies first cases of COVID-19 U.K. variant
Ontario is the first Canadian province to confirm cases of the variant, which has been detected in several other countries, including Denmark, Belgium, France, Australia and the Netherlands.
The province initially said that the confirmed cases coming from Durham region were a couple that had no known travel history exposure or high-risk contacts, but in the news release on Sunday, they said that additional investigation and follow-up case and contact management revealed that the couple had indeed been in contact with a recent traveller from the UK.
The Ministry of Health said this was new information not provided in earlier interviews.
The cases and contacts have been informed and are now in self-isolation as per public health protocols, it said.
“It is critically important that individuals with confirmed cases of COVID-19 provide all history of contacts and contact information to their public health unit. This is crucial to the prevention and control of this infection,” the news release said.
In an email to CBC News on Sunday, Public Health Ontario said laboratories across the province are screening large volumes of positive COVID-19 samples to investigate how prevalent the U.K. variant is in the province.
However, PHO says the diagnostic tests in Canada are effective in detecting the U.K. variant, but do not on their own distinguish that variant from other strains.
WATCH | Ontario becomes first province to identify new COVID-19 variant:
A couple was found to be carrying the virus, but neither had travelled or been in contact with a known case, officials say. 2:45
The restrictions will remain in place for southern Ontario until Jan. 23, but will lift for northern Ontario on Jan. 9.
For the five regions already in lockdown — Toronto, Peel Region, York Region, Windsor-Essex and Hamilton — the new measures don’t look much different than what is currently in place, though there are a few differences.
For other regions, much tighter restrictions are now in place.
For more information on what’s allowed and what isn’t under the new rules, click here.
Vaccinations paused over the holidays
Meanwhile, several doctors across the province took to Twitter over the weekend, criticizing the Ontario government for closing many vaccination clinics as of Friday.
David Jensen, spokesperson for the provincial government, said only five hospitals are operating clinics today, approximately 10 will operate clinics Monday, and all will be back in operation on Tuesday.
“As with any holiday season, ensuring proper staff coverage can be challenging,” Jensen said in an email to CBC News.
“Schedules for vaccination clinics were adjusted over the holidays to ensure that there was no impact on staffing levels within the long-term care homes or for the hospitals operating the clinics.”
Ontario laboratories began administering the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to health-care workers earlier this month, and is poised to receive tens of thousands of doses of the newly approved Moderna shot by the end of the month.
As of 12 p.m. on Sunday, some 11,227 vaccines have been administered across Ontario.
Deaths climb after massive outbreak at LTC home
As of Sunday afternoon, 41 residents have died due to a severe COVID-19 outbreak at a Scarborough nursing home. Fifteen of those deaths have occurred in the last four days.
Another 128 residents have tested positive for the virus and 69 staff members who have also been confirmed positive are isolating at home, said North York General Hospital in a statement. Eight staff members who previously were infected are now considered resolved cases and were able to return to work, they said.
Doctors and family members had raised concerns about conditions at the home this week, as they said residents were not being given enough water or their medication due to staffing concerns. North York General has been asked to step in.
Physician staffing levels at the home are now “strong” and health care workers across the city have volunteered to help at the home, the hospital said. Personal support workers are also available in “sufficient” numbers, but they are currently short on nurses and are actively recruiting, they said.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
