Ontario reports 153 new COVID-19 cases, shuts down calls for vaccine passports

Ontario reported 153 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, as Solicitor General Sylvia Jones shut down the possibility of any sort of proof-of-vaccination system being introduced in the province.

"We do not envision, in Ontario, that we will need an Ontario-based vaccine passport," Jones told reporters at a morning news conference in Peel Region.

Jones said that, if needed, Ontarians fully who are vaccinated against COVID-19 can rely on the receipt printed or emailed to them after their second shot.

Some businesses in the province have said that when Ontario enters Step 3 of its reopening plan, patrons will need to show proof of vaccination upon arrival. Similarly, Seneca College in Toronto announced yesterday that students who want to attend in-person classes or live in the school's residences will have to be fully immunized before the fall semester begins.

Toronto Mayor John Tory has called on the provincial government to create a voluntary system that would aid individual businesses or organizations determine the vaccination status of patrons and members. The Toronto Region Board of Trade has also endorsed such an initiative.

Officials in Quebec already announced they will limit moderate or high-risk activities like going to gyms and bars and playing contact sports based on a proof-of-vaccination system.

Jones emphasized, however, that Ontario has no plans to do so, and that she is relying on "individuals doing the right thing and getting fully vaccinated."

At a briefing yesterday, Ontario's chief medical officer of health said that a physical card or app to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 is "not needed at this time."

Dr. Kieran Moore said the province will continue its push to get as many people fully vaccinated as possible and that a passport system "has not been contemplated by this government."

Changes to mandatory testing at long-term care homes

Meanwhile, Ontario said today it's revising testing requirements at long-term care homes.

Staff, caregivers and visitors who have been fully-immunized with two doses of COVID-19 vaccine and show no symptoms of the illness will no longer need to be tested before entering a long-term care facility.

In a news release, the province said the change was made with input from Ontario's chief medical officer of health and was based on the "latest scientific evidence and expert advice."

The updated guidance will also recommend that retirement homes exempt fully-vaccinated people from routine testing.

The changes will come into effect on July 16 to coincide with Ontario's 34 public health units moving into Step 3 of the government's reopening plan.

Unvaccinated or partially immunized staff, caregivers and visitors will still be required to undergo testing.

Step 3 will also see the following changes:

• Removing the limits on the number of visitors to long-term care and retirement homes.
• Permitting buffet and family style dining.
• Providing all residents the ability to go on absences.
• Resumption of off-site excursions for residents.
• Resumption of activities such as singing and dancing.

The latest data from the Ministry of Long-term Care says that three of the province's 630 or so long-term care homes are currently dealing with outbreaks of COVID-19.

Other changes have taken effect this month in the highly vaccinated care homes in Ontario that suffered widespread virus outbreaks and deaths during the first year of the pandemic.

Indoor visits with up to two general visitors and two caregivers were permitted starting July 7 and visits of 10 people were allowed outdoors.

Personal care services like haircuts have also been allowed to resume and a limit on designated caregivers has been lifted.

The province has also made it mandatory that staff in long-term care disclose their vaccination status against the virus. Those who don't take the vaccine for non-medical reasons must undergo mandatory education about the importance of vaccines.

153 new cases of COVID-19

Today's case count is down from last Wednesday, when Ontario logged 194 further infections.

Here are some other key pandemic indicators and figures from the Ministry of Health's daily provincial update:

Seven-day average of daily cases: 164

Tests completed: 29,085

Provincewide test positivity rate: 0.6 per cent, the lowest reported on a Wednesday since late August 2020

Active cases: 1,478, the fewest provincewide since Sept. 7, 2020

Patients in ICU with COVID-related illnesses: 180; 116 needed a ventilator to breathe

New deaths: Seven, pushing the official death toll to 9,265

Vaccinations: 179,197, which is down considerably from figures reported on recent Wednesdays. Roughly 79.5 per cent of adults in Ontario have now had at least one shot of a vaccine.