Toronto reports new daily high of 643 COVID-19 cases
'Please keep your guard up,' Dr. Eileen de Villa, city's medical officer of health, says
Toronto reported a new daily high of 643 COVID-19 cases on Monday.
Dr. Eileen de Villa, the city's medical officer of health, told reporters that 249 people are in hospital in Toronto with the novel coronavirus. Of those hospitalized, 48 are in intensive care units. A total of 1,603 people have died of COVID-19 in the city.
"Please keep your guard up," de Villa said at a city hall news briefing.
De Villa noted that the 643 number is a "big number, the highest I have reported to you," and said it must be thought about not only carefully but also in context.
She said the city had 331 new cases last Monday. In the last week, case counts fluctuated from that low of 331 to the high of 643, but generally the number ranged between the high 400s and mid- 500s, she said.
"The case counts are concerning in any measure but quite variable from day to day," she said.
De Villa said it takes time for the virus to incubate and for symptoms to appear. Toronto has only been in the grey lockdown zone for a week, restrictions are in their early stages, and residents have only just recently reduced their contacts because of those measures.
She said it will take at least 14 days, or one incubation period, for the new measures to be reflected in daily case counts.
De Villa added that testing also plays a role in case counts, and in the last couple of days, the province's network of labs has completed about 55,000 tests per day.
De Villa said it is important that residents continue to follow public health measures.
"By making smart choices about where we go, who we see and what we do and by renewing our commitment to doing all we can do limit the spread of the virus, we can prevent infections," she said.
'Staying apart works,' medical officer says
"Distance works. Masks work. Handwashing works. Staying apart works. We are at lowest risk in our own homes with the people we live with every day and for the foreseeable future those are the people we should see the most."
De Villa said the city can bring down its high case counts.
"I know there is a real awareness of what we can do on an individual basis to play our part, as I know many, many people are doing. And I'm confident that we are going to see good results if we do just that," she said.
Her comments came after Toronto Mayor John Tory gave an update on COVID-19 in the city. Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg also spoke at the news conference.
Earlier on Monday, Ontario reported another 1,746 cases of COVID-19, including 622 in Toronto. Provincial numbers usually differ as the city's are more up to date.
Shop online with local stores, mayor urges residents
Tory, for his part, urged residents ahead of the holidays to shop online with local stores or shop in a way that allows them to take advantage of curbside pickup. He noted that 40 per cent of small independent businesses make all of their sales for the entire year during the holiday season.
"Never has it been more important to shop locally and to shop independent," Tory said at the news conference.
The mayor said the city is trying to encourage curbside pickup by reopening registration for the CurbTO program and it received dozens of applications over the weekend that will be reviewed as quickly as possible.
The program creates temporary parking pickup zones outside of main street businesses and allows people to park for 10 minutes to pick up items purchased from retailers.
On Monday, the mayors and chairs of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Areas met for their weekly meeting and Tory said they agreed that residents should be urged to stay at home as much as possible and to leave home only for essential reasons. These include grocery shopping, going to work or school, or getting exercise.
The mayors and chairs are also urging residents not to engage in "region hopping" to avoid restrictions, he added.
16 non-essential businesses charged
Pegg, meanwhile, told the news conference that city bylaw enforcement officers inspected 130 restaurants and bars on the weekend and found that 98.5 per cent were in compliance with provincial restrictions.
Only two were found to be not in compliance and investigating officers took action, he said.
Bylaw enforcement officers laid 16 charges against businesses deemed non-essential for violations of the Reopening Ontario Act. Hair salons, restaurants and furniture stores were among the businesses charged.
No malls inspected on the weekend had violated the act, he added.
About 15 bonfires along the Toronto waterfront, including two left unattended, were extinguished on the weekend. One in Prince of Wales Park in Etobicoke had to be extinguished by Toronto Fire Services.
"I want to thank the vast majority of residents and businesses who continue to do the right thing to help stop the spread of COVID-19, to save lives, prevent the transmission of COVID-19 and prevent the health-care system from becoming overwhelmed," Pegg said.
