TORONTO – COVID-19 – There are 30,623 cases of COVID-19 in the city, an increase of 324 new cases today. There are 159 people hospitalized. In total, 25,863 people have recovered from COVID-19. To date, there have been 1,399 COVID-19 deaths in Toronto.
“We continue to do everything we can as a City government to provide additional supports to priority communities combatting COVID-19. I urge all residents to keep following public health advice to help stop the spread of the virus in our city. Wear a mask, outside of work and school where precautions are in place only spend time with people in your household, and if you have symptoms of COVID-19, please get tested and isolate from others,” says Toronto Mayor John Tory.
Dr. Eileen de Villa, Medical Officer of Health states, “While COVID-19 has affected everyone, some are paying a much higher price than others, particularly in terms of infection rates and hospitalizations. The findings we’re reporting today highlight some of those areas of concern in Toronto and remind us all that good health is defined by more than the health of the body. It relies, in large part, on the security that comes from things like employment, housing and access to opportunity.”
Toronto Public Health today released updated and enhanced data on who in Toronto is being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 based on ethno-racial identity and household income. The data analysis continues to show the same trend; people with lower income levels and people from racialized communities report higher rates of COVID-19 infection and hospitalization.
While COVID-19 has affected everyone, it continues to have a greater impact on those in our community who face greater health inequities. Toronto Public Health data has shown:
• 79 per cent of people with reported COVID-19 infection identified with a racialized group
• 24 per cent of cases are among Black people who continue to be over-represented among COVID-19 cases
• 48 per cent of reported cases in Toronto were living in households that could be considered lower-income
• 25 per cent of COVID-19 cases were among individuals who live in households with five or more people
The data on the pandemic underscores existing issues related to the social determinants of health, including education, employment, housing and income, that need to be better addressed. Toronto Public Health is working with the health system and community and government partners to keep all residents as healthy as possible. Priority actions include recommending areas for enhanced testing, targeting health communications, supporting delivery of the flu vaccine and collaborating to prepare a Toronto COVID-19 Response Equity Action Plan.
As people across the city get out and experience the nice weather this weekend, it remains vitally important to follow Toronto Public Health advice to limit contact as much as possible to members of their own household only, practise 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 updated socioeconomic data released today shows that COVID-19 continues to prey on poverty and inequality in our city. How much you make, where you live, and the colour of your skin continues to play a big part in determining who contracts COVID-19. The pandemic didn’t create Toronto’s affordable housing crisis or the rise in precarious frontline work or structural racism, but it has exposed the negative health outcomes of them. The development of Toronto’s COVID Response Equity Action Plan is a critical step towards protecting all Torontonians, but all levels of Government must continue to do more to protect the residents and communities of our city,” says Councillor Joe Cressy (Spadina-Fort York), Chair of the Toronto Board of Health.
