4:40 pm Ontario public health officials provided an update on the province’s variant cases today.
Dr. Barbara Yaffe, associate chief medical officer of health, said a total of seven per cent of screened COVID-19 cases are variants of concern. To date, Ontario has confirmed 319 cases of fast-spreading coronavirus variants in the province.
The vast majority – 309 – are the UK variant. There are nine cases of the South Africa variant and one confirmed case of the Brazilian variant.
The variants are spread across 15 public health units in Ontario. York Region has 49 variant cases, Toronto has 38 variant cases, Peel Region has 38 variant cases and Durham Region has 18.
Ontario Returning 27 Public Health Regions to Strengthened COVID-19 Response Framework
Province Extending Shutdown and Stay-at-Home Order in Regions at Highest Risk
February 12, 2021
(the Framework ). The four remaining public health regions, Toronto Public Health, Peel Public Health, York Region Public Health and North Bay Parry Sound District, will remain in the shutdown, and the Stay-at-Home order and all existing public health and workplace safety measures will continue to apply to these four public health regions. The health and safety of Ontarians remains our number one priority. While we are cautiously and gradually transitioning some regions out of shutdown, with the risk of new variants this is not a reopening or a return to normal, said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. Until vaccines are widely available, It remains critical that all individuals and families continue to adhere to public health measures and stay
Stay in the loop Sign up for our free email newsletter. Unsubscribe anytime or contact us for details.
The Ontario government has officially announced that 27 regions will be moving out of the shutdown and into specific zones of the province s updated colour-coded framework next week, meaning all but four regions will no longer be under the stay-at-home order.
In a news release published Friday afternoon, the province said the majority of the public health regions will be moving back to the framework on Tuesday, Feb. 16, at 12:01 a.m. due to general improvement in trends of key indicators. The health and safety of Ontarians remains our number one priority. While we are cautiously and gradually transitioning some regions out of shutdown, with the risk of new variants this is not a reopening or a return to normal, said Health Minister Christine Elliott in the release.
Posted: Feb 09, 2021 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: February 9
Students are shown at a Toronto school in October 2020. Schools have been shut down in Toronto, Peel Region and York Region since before Christmas due to skyrocketing COVID-19 case numbers. In-class learning will resume on Tues. Feb. 16. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)