Ontario reports 945 new COVID-19 cases due to underreporting from Toronto

The Government of Ontario confirmed 945 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday morning, but the lower numbers are due to underreporting from Toronto.

According to Health Minister Christine Elliott, as part of Toronto Public Health’s (TPH) migration to CCM, TPH’s case counts are underreported today, “resulting in an underestimate of the daily counts.”

However, Thursday’s cases are less than Wednesday’s 1,072, Tuesday’s 1,022, Monday’s 1,265, Sunday’s 1,489, Saturday’s 1,388, Friday’s 1,670, and Thursday’s 1,563.

The province is also reporting 1,344 newly resolved cases and 18 additional deaths.

Of the newly announced cases, 112 are in Toronto, 258 are in Peel, and 116 are in York Region.

Elliott said nearly 68,800 tests were completed and 426,836 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines have been administered.

Ontario is reporting 945 cases of #COVID19 and over 68,800 tests completed. Locally, there are 258 new cases in Peel, 116 in York Region and 112 in Toronto.

As of 8:00 p.m. yesterday, 426,836 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.

— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) February 11, 2021

There are now confirmed cases of the UK, South African, and Brazilian COVID-19 variants in the province.

Health officials have called the fast-spreading variant a “significant threat” and noted that it may impact Ontario’s lockdown measures.

There is no evidence to suggest that approved vaccines will be any less effective against the newfound variants.

Stay at Home orders have been in effect since January 14 and are set to expire in 28 regions on February 16, with Toronto, Peel, and York set to expire on February 22.

Once the orders are lifted, regions will move back into the province’s colour-coded system, which will allow all retail to reopen with specific guidelines depending on the colour.

To date, Ontario has seen 282,511 COVID-19 cases and 6,614 virus-related deaths.