New interactive Toronto map shows coronavirus cases by neighbourhood

May 27 2020, 8:41 pm

Toronto Public Health released a new interactive map showing COVID-19 cases by neighbourhood.

On Wednesday, the City’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, said that the virus is present in every neighbourhood in Toronto, but the northeast and northwest regions have the highest number of positive cases.

However, de Villa emphasized that where the cases live do not indicate where they picked up the virus.

“You are at risk of contracting the virus from anywhere,” she said.

De Villa said it is important to note that by divulging coronavirus cases in different neighbourhoods can spread “misinformation,” which is why it’s important to understand that areas of higher infection does not mean that is where the virus is spreading the most, it just means it is where there are the most cases.

“Misinformation can lead to unintended stigma. We have a shared responsibility to not create social and physical harms in our community,” de Villa said.

“These cases are our friends, colleagues and family members.”  

But, the Medical Officer of Health said that by identifying where there are the most cases, they can have more proactive testing in these communities and take “targeted action to reduce virus spread.”

The maps will be continuously updated and published on Toronto Public Health’s website.

De Villa also noted that the reproduction of the virus is now less than one, meaning that if one person is infected, they will pass on the virus to less than one person.

“This is when you see disease activity decline and can cause virus spread to eventually stop.”

There were 152 new cases in the city, making the total 10,525, but of those, there are 7,814 resolved cases. The city has 780 reported coronavirus-related deaths.

Clarrie FeinsteinClarrie Feinstein

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