Ontario premier, minister test negative for COVID-19
Ford and Elliott in contact with someone infected
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has tested negative for COVID-19.
His office said Wednesday he would get tested after learning that Education Minister Stephen Lecce had come into contact with someone who was infected.
Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott held a joint news conference the day before with Lecce to announce a child-care reopening plan.
Lecce’s test result came back negative, and the premier’s office said Thursday that Ford’s and Elliott’s were negative as well.
Ontario reported only 203 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, while testing has reached “an all-time high,” according to Elliott.
In a Twitter thread, she also noted that “the vast majority of new cases continue to come from the GTA.”
The province reported Thursday that 24,341 tests were completed the previous day. An additional 12 COVID-19 deaths were also recorded, bringing the provincial death toll to 2,487.
Meanwhile, the number of Ontarians hospitalized with COVID-19 dropped from 580 to 538 in the last day. Of those patients still in hospital, 120 are in ICU and 87 are on ventilators.
Ontario and the federal government announced a joint $57-million investment Thursday to help businesses establish or improve online operations, an increasing necessity in the COVID-19 era. Part of the investment will go towards HYPERLINK “https://digitalmainstreet.ca/ontario/” hiring students to help businesses launch online stores.