As Toronto reports over 500 COVID-19 cases, de Villa cautions against virus being normalized

She also emphasizes that there is nothing normal about the situation the city is in.

By Lucas Casaletto

Toronto’s top doctor says the City is dealing with its most concerning increase in daily COVID-19 numbers to date and is cautioning people not to let these recent numbers become the norm.

Joined by Mayor John Tory, doctor Eileen de Villa said that in just three days, the City has reported far more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases; a troubling trend despite being in the middle of a second wave of the virus.

“These case count numbers are the most concerning I’ve seen here in Toronto since the pandemic started,” de Villa said.

“We’re seeing what happens when the virus gains ground through exponential growth from other places around the world and increasingly, here in Canada, even here in the GTA and most recently in Peel Region.”

De Villa noted that this weekend is supposed to see Toronto beginning to loosen certain COVID-19 restrictions, including a return to indoor dining and the reopening of gyms.

An honest de Villa admitted Toronto is not there yet.

“Tomorrow (Tuesday), we will have a full update so that residents and businesses will have the information they need to have the best choices for their circumstances,” she said.

“The case counts in Toronto do not point us toward fewer restrictions on our ability to come in contact with each other. Since Oct. 18, we have had confirmed cases per day somewhere in the low, to mid-300s.”

 

De Villa went on to say that had the City seen these types of daily increases in April, May or Aug., everyone would have found the case counts worrisome, urging residents not to let their guard down.

“As COVID-19 drags on, and we see much, much worse infection levels around the world, I fear that we are at risk of getting used to our current case counts as inevitable, irreversible, and ‘just the way it is,” she said.

“There is nothing normal about this.”

Tory and de Villa said that while it may be tempting to come in contact with others, cracking down on these types of visits and get togethers will make a difference in curving the spread in, and across the City.

COVID-19 vaccine development and progress

de Villa also took the time to address news of progress being made with regards to a potential vaccine coming to Canada.

Toronto’s top doctor and mayor Tory confirmed on Monday they are working to put infrastructure in place for a vaccine delivering program in Toronto.

“We have a very long way to go before we can rely on any vaccine to protect us from COVID-19,” de Villa cautioned.

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