COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto


The COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto is an ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019, a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. On January 23, the first identified case of COVID-19 in Canada during the 2019–20 worldwide pandemic was admitted to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. Toronto, which is the capital of Ontario, is Canada's most populous city and the 4th most populous city in North America.

Timeline

January

On January 23, the first presumptive case in Canada was admitted to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto and placed into a negative pressure chamber. The patient, a male in his 50s who travelled between Wuhan and Guangzhou before returning to Toronto on January 22, contacted emergency services following rapid onset symptoms. The presumption of infection in the patient was made after a rapid test was done at Public Health Ontario's Toronto laboratory, and was announced on January 25. Final testing conducted at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Manitoba confirmed the presumptive case on January 27. Authorities said that the patient was experiencing respiratory problems but was in stable condition. His condition later improved and he was released from hospital on January 31.
On January 27, the Chief Medical Officer of Health of Ontario announced the man's wife as the second presumptive case. Officials reported that she was in good condition and that she was asymptomatic.

February

On February 24, Toronto's third and Ontario's fourth case of COVID-19 was confirmed after a woman tested positive following travel to Wuhan.

March

On March 5, more cases in Ontario continued to emerge, including a Toronto man who presented himself to Sunnybrook Hospital and tested positive following travel to Iran.
On March 12, 17 new cases were confirmed including a baby boy who had recently visited the North York General Hospital in the former city of North York. That day, the total number of cases in Ontario increased to 59.
From the initial case on January 23 to March 18, over half of the reported cases in the province of Ontario were reported in Toronto.

April–May

By May 4, 2020, outbreaks on four different inpatient units were declared at Toronto Western Hospital. The first was declared on April 18 while three others were declared on April 30. On May 10, another outbreak was declared on another floor at the hospital. While the term outbreak differs in definition by hospital, Toronto Western Hospital defines it as the confirmation of one positive patient per unit. On May 13, the hospital's emergency department declared an outbreak after five of its staff tested positive.
On Saturday, May 23, 2020, due to warmer weather, estimates of up to 10,000 mostly young people gathered in Trinity Bellwoods Park. Public outrage ensued as well as condemnation from Premier Ford and Toronto's medical officer of health Eileen de Villa. After making a tour of the city's parks, speaking with citizens, Mayor John Tory was also seen at the park and was criticized for lack of social distancing and improperly wearing a mask. He publicly apologized for his actions to following day. No social distancing fines were placed, however, there were several issued for public urination. Police presence was increased the following day to prevent any subsequent large gatherings. The following week, 'social distancing circles' were painted on the lawn in the park modelled after similar tactics used in San Francisco and New York City.
On May 27, the Province announced they would be taking over five long-term care homes following a scathing report by the Canadian Armed Forces citing neglect and abuse. Three of the five long-term care homes are in Toronto: Eatonville Care Centre, Hawthorne Place Care Centre and Altamont Care Community.
Despite social distancing policies, on May 30, estimates of up to 4,000 protesters gathered over the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, as well as congruent and concurrent protests in the United States and Canada over the death of George Floyd. Protesters were encouraged to engage in social distancing and to wear face masks by Mayor Tory and Police Chief Mark Saunders. Early reports suggested most did wear face masks.

June

On June 1, the city announced two phases for re-opening park washrooms with the first phase re-opening about 50 washroom sites by June 6 and the remaining by mind-June. The Toronto Police Service had issued several tickets at Trinity Bellwoods Park on May 23 after reports of public urination.
On June 5, the city told restaurants to begin preparing for reopening, with no date set, under strict guidelines. Dining room capacities would be reduced by 50%, tables cannot seat more than six people and staff will all be required to maintain a six-foot distance at all times from each other. The city released an extensive list of reopening guidelines. Premier Ford, Mayor Tory and Dr. de Villa suggest that outdoor patios will most likely see a reopening before indoor dining areas.
Again, despite social-distancing orders banning gatherings of more than five people thousands gathered in protests against racism on the weekend of June 5–7. Not Another Black Life, the organizers of the original protest one week before did not claim involvement and instead asked protesters who had participated in the original march to get tested for COVID-19 and self-isolate for two weeks.
In early June, the city announced the CafeTO program, aimed at expanding the patio area of restaurants and bars with patio licenses when allowed to reopen. On June 8, the province echoed these sentiments suggesting they would be eliminating ‘bureaucratic red tape’ to assist in these patio extensions.
On June 8, Premier Ford announced to beginning of rolling out initiation of Stage 2 of reopening. Gatherings of ten people or less are now allowed in the whole province. However the general Stage 2 approach would be done regionally and therefore Toronto and other areas in the GTA are excluded and will enter Stage 2 at a later date.
On June 9, city councillor Michael Ford became the first city councillor to test positive for COVID-19. On June 11, 26-year-old Ford was briefly admitted to hospital.
On June 15, as another round of regions were allowed to move into Stage 2, Toronto, Peel and Windsor-Essex were still disallowed from moving forward.
On June 16, the Canadian Armed Forces, sent to help the troubled Eatonville Care Centre officially left the long-term care home. The home was declared 'COVID-19 free' by the home's executive director. The home saw at least 43 deaths, and 138 cases amongst residents and 106 cases amongst staff. All residents have recovered and all but one staff member have recovered.
By June 18, the city of Toronto had confirmed at least 1000 deaths related to COVID-19.
On June 19, the city announced that it will resume issuing marriage licenses from June 22 at the North York Civic Centre. The East York, Etobicoke, Scarborough, and York Civic Centres along with Metro Hall and Toronto City Hall service counters remain closed.
On June 22, the province allowed Toronto to move forward to Stage 2 of reopening, beginning 12:01 am on Wednesday, June 24.
At 12:01 am, some bars and restaurants opened Wednesday morning for a short time. On June 24, Mayor Tory announced ferry service will resume to the Toronto Islands on June 27, which had been closed to non-residents since the beginning of the pandemic. Riders of the ferries will be required to wear face coverings.

July

Beginning after Canada Day, street parking enforcement, as well as fare evasion enforcement, will return to Toronto and the Toronto Transit Commission respectively. Beginning July 2, face masks or face coverings will be required to be worn on the TTC.
Beginning July 7, face masks or face coverings will be required in enclosed, public places by law in the city of Toronto.
On July 29, the Ontario government announced Toronto was allowed to enter Stage 3 of reopening on July 31 at 12:01 am.

Government response

Toronto Mayor John Tory announced a local state of emergency on March 23, 2020. On March 25, 2020, Mayor Tory announced the closure of park amenities, including playgrounds and tennis courts in the city. High Park was closed from April 30th to May 10th to prevent mass gatherings of people to view the cherry blossoms.
On June 30, city council voted to make masks or face coverings mandatory in enclosed public spaces.
In late July, in anticipation of moving to Stage 3, city council made proposals to impose stronger safety measures compared to other Ontario regions.
Toronto had previously had experience with an infectious disease crisis during the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak. This helped healthcare providers, hospitals and public health prepare for another epidemic.

Criticism

Protesters have gathered at Queen's Park for consecutive weeks, demonstrating on a variety of topics such as 5G conspiracy theories, distaste for all levels of government and anti-lockdown measures, which echo much larger protests ongoing in the United States.

Impact

The Toronto Transit Commission saw a decrease of 86% in ridership by May, with a monthly economic shortfall of and projected losses to culminate in $300 million by Labour Day.
Police reported an uptick in stunt driving, street racing and speeding due to emptied roads and highways. Toronto police confirmed they issued close to 3,000 speeding tickets between March 15 and March 31, an increase of 35% of normal ticketing. On May 9, a 19-year old driver was arrested by the Ontario Provincial Police having clocked 308 km/h on the Gardiner Expressway and Queen Elizabeth Way, the highest recorded speed in Ontario history.
On March 31, Toronto cancelled major in-person events through June 30; this was extended several times, it was extended to the end of August as of May 15 and again to the end of September as of July 13.. Among the events cancelled were the Canadian National Exhibition, Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, which has run continuously since 1879 and 1921 respectively, only pausing for a portion of the Second World War. Other events included Taste of the Danforth, the spring Toronto Marathon, the fall Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Honda Indy, Toronto Pride Parade, Toronto Caribbean Carnival, Nuit Blanche, and Fan Expo Canada.
Researchers in April 2020 warned physicians about the risks of overlooking the virus' impact on LGBT communities. Securing demographic data about COVID-19's effect on racial minorities in Toronto was also a priority.

Restaurants, bars and venues

With the government requiring the closure of bars and restaurants, many began to face steep financial woes and were forced to close permanently.
The following is a list of Toronto restaurants, bars and venues that have shut down permanently during the pandemic:

Statistics


Demographic distribution

Cases by age on July 26, 2020.
Age rangeCases% of Total
19 and under6936.3%
20-29222814.5%
30-39217914.2%
40-49215514.1%
50-59242515.8%
60-69165010.8%
70-7910646.9%
80-89153910.0%
90 and above11077.2%
Unknown270.2%

Key people