Toronto's pandemic response status upgraded to 'green'

Torontosun.com
August 11, 2020

Cancel red alert.

Toronto hit an important milestone Monday in its fight against COVID-19, with itsfour   pandemic control indicators listed at “green” for the first time.

Mayor John Tory said Monday while it’s too early to declare an end to the pandemic, things are definitely moving in the right direction.

“We’re on a good path moving forward,” Tory said.

“This is a snapshot in time that we know can fluctuate, but nonetheless is a positive milestone, and one that is worth noting.”

The city’s indicators focus on four areas: virus spread and containment, laboratory testing, health system capacity and public health system capacity.

On average, the city’s seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases is 21 -- with an acheived goal of seeing these numbers drop over a 14-day period.

The city reported 62% of new COVID-19 tests are being turned around within 24 hours and 90% are completed within 48 hours.

Of those tests, only 0.3% are coming back positive.

In the city, 62% of intensive care beds are occupied, with only 21% of ventilator-beds and 83% of acute care beds occupied.

Toronto recorded 18 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, putting the total number of infections at 15,532.

It’s been a little over a week since Toronto entered Stage 3 of the province’s pandemic re-opening plan, and Tory is urging residents to remain vigilant.

“We recognized we have to do things differently now, but we are confident that we can do them right.”