Ontario’s downward virus streak comes to end
Province reports 115 new cases, ending stretch of fewer than 100 a day
Ontario’s chief medical officer is urging residents to stay vigilant with COVID-19 precautions in hopes of further lowering the number of new daily cases, making it “even safer for our school programs to open” in September.
The message from Dr. David Williams came Monday as Premier Doug Ford faced mounting concerns about the size of elementary classes and the province reported 115 new cases of the virus, ending a seven-day stretch with fewer than 100 new infections a day.
It was a sharp increase from 79 new cases Sunday and 70 on Saturday as health officials keep a close watch on daily tallies with most of the province in Stage 3, where the risk of spread is higher if people do not abide by physical distancing, wearing face coverings and frequent hand washing.
Health Minister Christine Elliott cautioned against reading too much into a one-day jump in the case count.
“While a slight uptick and an end to our streak, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that thanks to your efforts the trend in the province remains downward,” she said on Twitter as the government allowed Windsor-Essex to move to Stage 3.
Eighteen of Ontario’s 34 public health units had no new cases and 10 regions had fewer than five new infections. The highest numbers were 20 in Ottawa, 19 in Peel and 16 in Toronto.
New cases throughout the province have mostly been linked by local public health departments to parties, workplaces and other gatherings — such as the outbreak last week in Chatham-Kent after several families went on a boat trip together — rather than random community spread, Williams said.
He acknowledged concerns from parents that class sizes will be larger than the 10 people allowed in social circles with close contact under existing guidelines, but suggested the concept could soon be expanded, saying, “Stay tuned.”
Asked about a new report that found 97,000 children tested positive for COVID-19 in the U.S. during the last two weeks of July, Williams said that is more a reflection of the rampant spread south of the border.