TORONTO – Toronto continues to respond to COVID-19. This weekend, as families across the city celebrate Halloween, it is vitally important residents follow Toronto Public Health advice to limit contact as much as possible to members of their own household only, practice physical distancing, wash hands often, wear a mask or face covering in all indoor public spaces or when physical distancing cannot be maintained and stay home when ill. The choices made this weekend have the potential to impact everyone.
There are 28,284 cases of COVID-19 in the city, an increase of 345 new cases today. There are 127 people hospitalized. In total, 23,598 people have recovered from COVID-19. To date, there have been 1,364 COVID-19 deaths in Toronto.
Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health has called for Torontonians to take a different approach to Halloween this year to help stop the spread of COVID-19, including recommending against door-to-door trick-or-treating. While there are no specific laws against trick-or-treating, it is recommended that residents celebrate Halloween in other creative ways, including hosting a virtual costume party, decorating their homes, carving a pumpkin, or making Halloween-themed cloth masks.
In other years, on November 1, Torontonians bid a celebratory farewell to their jack-o-lanterns with pumpkin parades in City parks. This year, due to COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings, permits for pumpkin parades were not issued. Instead, Torontonians can have one last night for their jack-o-lanterns to shine bright by sharing pictures of their pumpkins from home using #PumpkinParadesTO.
More information about pumpkin parades is available online: https://www.toronto.ca/pumpkinparades. Residents are asked to dispose of pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns with yard waste by placing them in kraft paper yard waste bags or yard waste bins and putting them out on their scheduled collection day.
Provincial regulations under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act set social gathering and organized public event limits at 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors, prohibit indoor food and drink service in restaurants, bars and other food and drink establishments, limit capacity for certain activities, prohibit games and scrimmages for sports teams and more.
The City’s COVID-19 enforcement team continues to respond to complaints and enforce provincial orders and bylaws across the city, including in bars, restaurants and parks. Yesterday, the City received 12 complaints related to parks use and physical distancing, 60 complaints related to businesses and four complaints related to gatherings on private property. One ticket and nine notices were given to non-compliant businesses.
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.
