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  2. City of Toronto update on COVID-19- December 16, 2020

City of Toronto update on COVID-19- December 16, 2020

The City of Toronto continues to respond to COVID-19. Today, Mayor John Tory and Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, provided an update on the City’s measures to combat the resurgence of the virus in Toronto.

There are 50,745 cases of COVID-19 in the city. Today, Dr. de Villa reported a record increase of 850 new recorded cases. There are 281 people hospitalized. To date, there have been 1,741 COVID-19 deaths in Toronto, an increase of 19 deaths, including a person who was 47 years old. In total, 43,340 people have recovered from COVID-19. Case status data can be found on the City’s reporting platform: www.toronto.ca/home/covid-19/covid-19-latest-city-of-toronto-news/covid-19-status-of-cases-in-toronto/.

During this holiday season, Mayor Tory and Dr. de Villa are urging people to stay home as much as possible to stop the spread of COVID-19 and protect our health care system. Only celebrate in-person with the people that you live with and celebrate virtually with all others. Dr. de Villa shared a number of visuals that explained the very serious situation in Toronto. From January 25 to October 20, Toronto reached 25,000 cases of COVID-19. It has now taken approximately eight weeks to double the number of cases – to more than 50,000. Reported cases also only reflect the tip of the iceberg; the number of true infections is much larger than reported cases, which reflects only people who have tested positive. Reporting does not capture infections that aren’t symptomatic or are so mildly symptomatic that people don’t think they have COVID-19 and don’t get tested. Visuals are available on toronto.ca: https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/92e5-MOH-Presentation_16December2020.pdf.

All Toronto residents should be adopting steps for self-protection. Everyone should only consider leaving their homes for essential activities such as work, school and fresh air and exercise. As much as possible, residents are asked to limit contact to people in the same household, keep at least six feet apart from people not in the same household and wear a mask when outside of their homes, especially in indoor settings and when physical distancing is difficult. Residents should wash hands frequently and remain at home when ill.

The City’s website is updated daily with the latest health advice and information about City services, social supports and economic recovery measures. Check http://www.toronto.ca/covid-19/ for answers to common questions before contacting the Toronto Public Health COVID-19 Hotline or 311.

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Phone: 416-392-4060
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100 Queen St W, Suite C44
Toronto, ON M5H 2N2