Here are the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic in the Greater Toronto Area for Sunday.
Toronto, Peel Region move to grey-lockdown on Monday
Sunday marks the last day of the stay-at-home order for Toronto and Peel Region as the municipalities prepare to enter the grey-lockdown zone of the province’s coronavirus response framework on Monday.
The move will allow for the loosening of some restrictions, namely permitting retailers to open for in-person shopping with capacity restrictions.
Bars and restaurants must remain closed to in-person dining, and most fitness facilities must also stay closed.
The changes come into effect at 12:01 a.m.
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Toronto, Peel Region moving to grey lockdown restrictions under Ontario’s COVID-19 framework
Archdiocese of Toronto launches ‘Open Ontario to Worship’ campaign
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto has launched an initiative calling on the provincial government to amend regulations around capacity restrictions in places of worship.
The “Open Ontario to Worship” campaign calls on people to send an email to their local MPP, which will be shared with Premier Doug Ford, and requests that the government allow places of worship to open based on a percentage of pre-pandemic capacity.
“Places of worship, regardless of whether they seat 100 or 1,000 people, must remain at a hard cap of 10 people,” Thomas Cardinal Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, wrote in his “call to action,” in reference to areas under grey-lockdown restrictions.
“Next week, a funeral at St. Michael’s Cathedral (capacity 1,500) will be capped at 10 people, while around the corner dozens can enter the local liquor store and thousands will visit the Eaton Centre. This makes no sense.”
Toronto officials say they’re ready to administer vaccines 24/7
As cities prepare for an expanded COVID-19 vaccine distribution, the call to increase the accessibility of doses continues to grow.
City councillor Shelley Carroll is putting forward a motion to Toronto council this week asking for clinics to expand their hours of operation and to consider offering the COVID-19 vaccine 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Carroll said people need more details when it comes to the city’s plans.
Read more:
City of Toronto ready to administer COVID-19 vaccines 24/7 as long as supply allows
Status of cases in the GTA
Ontario reported a total of 1,299 new coronavirus cases on Sunday.
Of those:
- 329 were in Toronto
- 192 were in Peel Region
- 116 were in York Region
- 58 were in Durham Region
- 39 were in Halton Region
Ontario reports nearly 1,300 new cases, 15 more deaths
Ontario reported 1,299 cases of the novel coronavirus Sunday, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 308,296.
A total of 290,840 COVID-19 cases are considered resolved, which is up by 1,105 and is 94.3 per cent of all confirmed cases.
Fifteen additional deaths were also reported on Sunday, bringing the provincial death toll to 7,067.
Provincial figures showed there are 606 people hospitalized with the virus (down by 14), with 273 in intensive care (down by five), 179 of whom are on a ventilator (down by two).
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Ontario reports nearly 1,300 new coronavirus cases, 15 more deaths
Over 30K more vaccine doses administered in Ontario
As of 8 p.m. Saturday, 890,604 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Ontario, marking an increase of 30,192 over 24 hours. That’s down compared to the previous day when a record 39,698 doses were administered over 24 hours.
So far, 271,807 people in the province are considered to be fully vaccinated.
— With files from Katherine Ward