The Ontario government’s current coronavirus lockdown restrictions in areas like Toronto and Peel Region are not as effective as the previous provincial lockdown, officials say, leading to concerns about higher case growth.
In an update provided by Ontario’s science and modelling consensus tables Thursday afternoon, the present lockdown hasn’t impacted affected residents’ travelling and likely contacts with others compared to restrictions put in place in March.
The advisory bodies did report that even though cases continue to grow, the percentage of people testing positive on a daily basis “appears to be flattening.” But there were notable differences between areas governed by different public health units.
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According to the most recent modelling data, Peel Region continues to lead the total new cases per 100,000 residents a week across Ontario’s 35 public health units with 197 cases for every 100,000. Toronto comes second with 118 followed by York Region at 104, Windsor-Essex at 94, Durham Region at 82, Hamilton at 80 and Waterloo at 79.
It was also reported that if current public health measures and restrictions are relaxed, that decision could mean more people ending up in intensive care units as those units continue to be strained with more than 200 COVID-19 patients taking those spaces. Officials said the ICU strain means accessing care for non-COVID-19-related issues will be more difficult.
With Ontario’s growing cases, it appears to be increasingly affecting those in the province’s long-term care facilities. According to the data, the mortality rate for those infected with the virus at those facilities is increasing and within a month more than 25 people could die each day.
More to come.