COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario

COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario
An empty Yonge–Dundas Square in Toronto
A No Frills with empty shelves due to panic buying
A highway sign in Ottawa
A sign thanking healthcare workers in Unionville
A PPE donation drive at North York General Hospital
Sticker given to people who had received a COVID-19 vaccine in Belleville
(clockwise from top)
DiseaseCOVID-19
Virus strainSARS-CoV-2
LocationOntario, Canada
First outbreakWuhan, Hubei, China
Index caseSunnybrook Hospital, Toronto
Arrival dateJanuary 25, 2020
(4 years, 9 months and 4 weeks)
Confirmed cases1,123,709[a]
Active cases16,241
Suspected cases‡2,500,000 - 5,000,000 (Ontario's COVID-19 Science Advisory Table)[3]
Recovered1,095,221
Deaths
12,247
Fatality rate1.09%
Vaccinations
  • 12,530,724 (84.52%) (total population with at least one dose)
  • 11,914,979 (80.36%) (total population fully vaccinated)
  • 6,773,871 (45.69%) (total population with additional dose)
Government website
Government of Ontario
‡Suspected cases have not been confirmed by laboratory tests as being due to this strain, although some other strains may have been ruled out.

The COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario was a viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Canada was announced on January 25, 2020, involving a traveller who had recently returned to Toronto from travel in China, including Wuhan.[4] Ontario has had the largest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases among Canada's provinces and territories, but due to having the largest population, only ranks sixth adjusted per capita.[5] Ontario surpassed one million lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases on January 24, 2022; one day before the anniversary of the first confirmed case on January 25, 2020.

On March 17, 2020, a state of emergency was declared by Premier Doug Ford.[6] This included the gradual implementation of restrictions on gatherings and commerce.

From late spring to early summer, the majority of the deaths were residents of long-term care homes.[7] In late April 2020, one out of five of all long-term care homes in Ontario had an outbreak[7] and 70 percent to 80 percent of all COVID-19 deaths had been in retirement and long-term care homes.[8] Following medical assistance and observation by the Canadian Armed Forces, the military released a report detailing "a number of medical, professional and technical issues" amongst for-profit long-term-care homes including neglect, lack of equipment and allegations of elder abuse.[9]

Following a decline in cases, in May through August 2020, the province instituted a three-stage plan to lift economic restrictions. The state of emergency was lifted on July 24, 2020.[10]

In early September 2020, the province showed a significant increase in new cases, beginning the second wave of the pandemic.[11] Ontario began to reintroduce some restrictions and in early November, created a new five-tiered colour-coded "response framework".

From late November to mid-December 2020, the province began placing regions in rolling lockdowns, culminating in a province-wide shutdown beginning Boxing Day.[12] In the post-winter holiday surge of new infections, Premier Ford declared Ontario's second state of emergency on January 12, 2021,[13] which was lifted February 10, 2021,[14] and a stay-at-home order effective January 14, 2021,[13] which was phased out regionally between February 10 and March 8, 2021.[14]

Following Health Canada's approval of various COVID-19 vaccines, widespread plans for vaccinations began during the week of December 14, 2020.[15] Early vaccination efforts were highly criticized and a shortage of vaccine supply in late January and early February slowed immunization rollout significantly for a number of weeks.[16] The rollout continued to be highly criticized for lack of equitability and clarity, which was significantly helped by volunteer groups like Vaccine Hunters Canada.

In mid-March 2021, the Ontario Hospital Association, and Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health[17] declared the province was experiencing a third wave of the virus.[18][19] Following the third wave surge, ICU numbers in late March climbed to their highest numbers since the beginning of the pandemic.[20] On April 1, 2021, the government announced a second province-wide shutdown beginning April 3.[21] Ford later issued a third state of emergency and stay-at-home order for the province beginning April 8, 2021,[22] and ordered all schools to close on April 12, 2021 (public schools were in the middle of spring break, delayed from March to April).[23] In order to ensure greater decline in the number of reported daily infections, the stay-at-home order was extended yet again to June 2, 2021, at which point it expired.[24] Following the expiration of the stay-at-home order, on May 20, 2021, the provincial government released a three-step roadmap to reopen the economy based on vaccination rate goals.[25]

In late summer 2021, the province began preparing for a fourth wave of the virus, which was now largely affecting unvaccinated individuals.[26] After hitting a stand-still on vaccination rates, on September 1, 2021, Ontario became the fourth province to implement a proof of vaccination mandate for various non-essential functions, which went into effect on September 22, 2021.[27] In January 2022, Ontario entered a partial lockdown (termed as a rollback to "Step 2" of the previous roadmap) due to record cases caused by Omicron variant, ordering the closure of most non-essential indoor facilities.

Face mask mandates and vaccination mandates were lifted on March 21, 2022, due to the decreasing number of new cases, unofficially ending the pandemic.[28]

  1. ^ "Fears of inaccurate case counts as provinces limit who qualifies for COVID-19 PCR tests". The National (TV program). Retrieved December 17, 2022.
  2. ^ "Ontario breaks single-day record once again with more than 18,000 new COVID-19 cases". Toronto. January 1, 2022.
  3. ^ "Omicron wave has plateaued in Ontario but COVID-19 hospitalizations expected to see 'prolonged peak'". Toronto. February 1, 2022.
  4. ^ "COVID-19: A Canadian timeline | Canadian Healthcare Network". Archived from the original on March 16, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  5. ^ "COVID-19 daily epidemiology update". Public Health Agency of Canada. April 19, 2020.
  6. ^ "Ontario government declares state of emergency amid coronavirus pandemic". Global News. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "COVID-19 Modelling, April 3, 2020" (PDF). files.ontario.ca. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 20, 2020.
  8. ^ "Ontario doesn't have a one-stop shop for information about COVID-19 deaths in long-term-care homes and hospitals. The Toronto Star built its own". thestar.com. April 23, 2020. Archived from the original on April 24, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  9. ^ DeClerq, Katherine (May 26, 2020). "'Gut-wrenching' military report sheds light on grim conditions in Ontario nursing homes". Toronto. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  10. ^ "Bill 195: Ontario ends declared emergency, continues some emergency orders". Gowlingwlg.com. Gowling WLG International Limited. July 28, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  11. ^ "Tam urges caution as daily cases of COVID-19 rise 25 per cent in last week". CTV News. September 7, 2020. Archived from the original on September 8, 2020. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  12. ^ "Ontario-wide lockdown to begin on Boxing Day, list of essential retailers narrowed". CP24. December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Coronavirus: Ontario declares 2nd state of emergency, issues stay-at-home order". Global News.
  14. ^ a b "Opposition slams Ford for sending 'dangerous message' by ending state of emergency". Toronto. February 9, 2021.
  15. ^ "Ontario releases three-phase COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan with inoculations to begin on Tuesday". CP24. December 11, 2020.
  16. ^ "Explained: What the Pfizer shortage means for Canada's vaccine rollout". Coronavirus. January 26, 2021.
  17. ^ "'We are in the third wave it is just a matter of what kind of wave it is,' Ontario's top public health official says". CP24. March 18, 2021.
  18. ^ Davidson, Sean (March 15, 2021). "Ontario now in third wave of COVID-19, province's hospital association says". Toronto.
  19. ^ "Strict three-week lockdown needed to stop explosive COVID-19 variant growth, Ontario science table says". Toronto. March 17, 2021.
  20. ^ "Ontario reports more than 2300 new COVID-19 cases as ICU numbers reach record high". Toronto. March 31, 2021.
  21. ^ "Ontario to enter four-week, provincewide COVID-19 shutdown on Saturday". Toronto. April 1, 2021.
  22. ^ "Ontario introduces another stay-at-home order, declares third state of emergency". Toronto. April 7, 2021.
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference AprSchClos was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ "Ontario Newsroom". news.ontario.ca.
  25. ^ "Here's how Ontario plans to reopen over the summer months". May 20, 2021.
  26. ^ "Public health prepares for fourth wave of COVID-19 cases". thewhig.
  27. ^ "Ontario's COVID-19 vaccine passport plan unveiled, won't apply to retail". CBC News Toronto. September 1, 2021.
  28. ^ "Ontario to drop most mask mandates on March 21, remaining pandemic rules to lift by end of April". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).