Ontario logs almost 2,000 new COVID-19 cases due to data adjustment

The Government of Ontario confirmed 1,969 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, which is an “overestimate” in count as Toronto Public Health merges their data system with the province.

Health Minister Christine Elliott said “as Toronto Public Health migrates to the provincial data system, CCM, additional records were reported for Toronto Public Health today, resulting in an overestimate of the daily counts.”

The province noted that due to a data catch-up, cases reported on January 30 for Toronto Public Health include approximately 300 additional records, which impacts overall case counts for Ontario.

“Due to process adjustments and transitioning to CCM, additional records were reported for Toronto Public Health on January 31. This impacts overall case counts for Ontario.”

The province is also reporting 2,132 newly resolved cases and 36 additional deaths.

Monday’s cases are slightly more than Sunday’s 1,848 but less than Saturday’s 2,063 and Thursday’s 2,093.

However, the number is higher than Friday’s 1,837 and Wednesday’s 1,670, which was the lowest case count in over two months.

Of the newly announced cases, 886 are in Toronto, 330 are in Peel, and 128 are in York Region.

Health Minister Christine Elliott said nearly 30,400 tests were completed.

Ontario is reporting 1,969 cases of #COVID19 and nearly 30,400 tests completed. Locally, there are 886 new cases in Toronto, 330 in Peel and 128 in York Region.

As of 8:00 p.m. yesterday, 341,900 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.

— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) February 1, 2021

She added, “As of 8:00 pm yesterday, 341,900 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.”

There are now 51 confirmed cases of the UK COVID-19 variant in Ontario. The fast-spreading virus mutation was first detected in a couple from Durham Region.

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.

Over the weekend, major Canadian airlines, including WestJet and Air Canada, cancelled service to Mexico and the Caribbean until the end of April.

On February 1, mandatory COVID-19 testing began at Toronto’s Pearson Airport. While international travellers await the results of their test they will need to quarantine at an approved hotel at their own expense.

A second State of Emergency was announced by Premier Doug Ford, who also issued a Stay at Home order, effective January 14. This means everyone must stay home and only go out for essential trips, such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy, accessing healthcare services, exercising, or essential work.

To date, Ontario has seen 270,180 COVID-19 cases and 6,224 virus-related deaths.