KEY UPDATES
FEDERAL
Variants of concern are emerging in all 10 provinces; there are over 514 cases of the B117 variant, 33 cases of the B1351 variant and one case of the P1 variant.
Canada will be receiving 1.3 million doses of the Moderna vaccine before the end of March; Moderna vaccine deliveries arrive every three weeks, the next delivery will have 168,000 doses.
Travellers arriving to Canada by land are now required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 molecular test result taken in the United States within 72 hours of pre-arrival; this came into effect Monday, February 15, 2021.
Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, welcomed the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s annual Article IV mission report that praised Canada’s COVID-19 economic response.
PROVINCIAL
Over the last three days, Ontario reported daily case numbers under 1,000, 27 public health regions moved out of the provincial shutdown and into a revised COVID-19 Response Framework: Keeping Ontario Safe and Open at 12:01 a.m. this morning and are no longer subject to the Stay-at-Home order: Toronto, Peel, York Region and North Bay Parry Sound remain in the shutdown; the Stay-at-Home order and existing public health and workplace safety measures will continue to apply until at least Monday, February 22, 2021. In a brief media appearance today, Premier Ford indicated based on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Toronto, Peel and York Region will most likely be moving into the Grey-Lockdown Zone once the stay-at-home order is lifted; no decision has been finalized by Cabinet yet.
On Sunday, February 14, the Ontario government announced the next target groups within the Phase One priority populations; the following groups were identified as being next priority: Adults 80 years of age and older. Staff, residents and caregivers in retirement homes and other congregate care settings for seniors, including assisted living Health-care workers at the high-priority level and in keeping with Health Ministry guidance. All Indigenous adults and Adult recipients of chronic home care.
The Ontario government is expanding the number of small businesses that can apply for the Main Street Relief Grant to help offset the costs of purchasing PPE; small businesses with 2 to 19 employees in all eligible sectors (expanded from 2 to 9 employees), including those in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector, can apply for up to $1,000 in financial support. The province is providing up to $118,500 to develop specialized COVID-19 resources to better protect the health and safety of temporary foreign workers and others employed in the agri-food sector. The Ontario government is providing the Ontario Heritage Trust (OHT) with $4.3 million to carry out its work during COVID-19; the one-time investment will protect jobs and ensure Ontario’s cultural and natural heritage properties remain supported and accessible. The winter sitting of the Ontario legislature resumed today; the Ontario government indicated it plans to continue its response to COVID-19 while laying the foundation for a strong economic recovery.
YORK REGION
City of Toronto Mayor John Tory issued a statement on behalf of the Mayors and Chairs sharing concerns about COVID-19 variants and agreeing the focus must be the continued safe reopening of schools, while monitoring the broader impact of variants;
Canada’s Wonderland to be COVID-19 vaccination site as mass immunization plans ramp up.
COVID-19 IN YORK REGION:
Below is a summary of the detailed information contained in the Interactive Dashboard – Cases at york.ca/covid19data. As of February 16, 2021 at 5 p.m. there are:
27,721 total confirmed cases 155 new cases* since yesterday 109.4 average daily cases over past 7 days 63.8 total cases per 100K population** (explanation below) 249 total variant cases identified 6 new hospitalizations 150 confirmed cases in hospital, 17 of which are in Intensive Care 393 cases among health care workers, of which 391 cases have resolved *1 new fatality 504 total confirmed fatalities 26,208 resolved cases 4.32% positivity rate** 59 open outbreaks under COVID-19 protocols 28 institutional (Long-Term Care/Retirement Homes/Community Care/Hospitals)9 Child Care Centre0 Schools; 4 Schools under surveillance 0 Emergency Housing22 Workplaces 667 closed outbreaks
*Data quality is an on-going process and may result in the more/less cases reported on a day-over-day basis or other changes to how cases are classified (e.g., municipality, acquisition, etc.). These data quality activities have also resulted in the re-categorization of individuals. Data quality activities do not increase or decrease total case counts.
**The daily COVID-19 Council Update includes the 7-day average daily case numbers, cases per 100K population, new hospitalizations and positivity rate (positivity rate refers to the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests among all individuals being tested for COVID-19).
COMBINED CASE NUMBERS:
As of this morning, there are:
More than 108.8 million total cases worldwide (192,266 new) with cases in 216 countries, area or territories; more than 2.4 million related fatalities reported by the World Health Organization (WHO)826,924 total cases (1,139 new); with 21,311 related fatalities in Canada (19 new); 769,929 resolved in Canada (as of February 15 at 7 p.m.) 287,736 total cases (1,139 new); with 6,719 related fatalities; 269,413 resolved in Ontario
KING TOWNSHIP
8 new cases reported today.