Ontario reports just over 1,000 new COVID-19 cases as Toronto underreports again

The Government of Ontario confirmed 1,072 new COVID-19 cases on Friday morning, as Toronto Public Health continues to merge their data system with the province.

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

Friday’s cases are more than Thursday’s 945, the same as Wednesday’s 1,072,  more than Tuesday’s 1,022, but less than Monday’s 1,265.

The province is also reporting 1,415 newly resolved cases and 18 additional deaths.

Of the newly announced cases, 361 are in Toronto, 210 are in Peel, and 122 are in York Region.

Elliott said nearly 62,000 tests were completed and 442,441 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines have been administered.

Ontario is reporting 1,076 cases of #COVID19 and over 62,000 tests completed. Locally, there are 361 new cases in Toronto, 210 in Peel and 122 in York Region.

As of 8:00 p.m. yesterday, 442,441 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.

— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) February 12, 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 283,587 COVID-19 cases and 6,632 virus-related deaths.