Toronto's COVID-19 Cases Are Skyrocketing & Dr. De Villa Is 'Deeply Concerned'

COVID-19 has been spreading fast in Toronto, and the city has been taking new steps to control the outbreak daily. Despite this, the number of cases is soaring. In a press conference held on April 1, Toronto Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa said that the city has seen a 500% increase in COVID-19 cases in Toronto over the past two weeks. "Just 2 weeks ago, on March 18, Toronto had 102 confirmed cases," she said in the press conference. "Yesterday, March 31, we reported 628 confirmed and 165 probable cases of COVID-19, with 65 people in hospital and 33 in intensive care units."

"To make this patently clear," she continued, "in terms of our case counts in the last two weeks, we’ve seen a more than 500% increase in these counts.""This is not a favourable trajectory, and as your Medical Officer of Health, responsible for protecting the City’s health — your health — I am deeply concerned."The city has recently been taking heightened measures to ensure that people respect the emergency protocols that the city and province have put in place.

These social distancing rules will continue to tighten as the city desperately tries to avoid the same fate as cities like New York. Tory says to expect these measures to remain in place for 12 weeks.

Dr. de Villa used nearby cities as a cautionary example for why social distancing is so important during this time. 

New York City, which recorded its first case on March 1, has seen a significant outbreak of COVID-19, with over 1,000 deaths in the first month.

Mayor Tory says Toronto should prepare for 12 more weeks of these strict measures in order to avoid the same fate as New York City.

"One month after reporting its first case, New York City's case count was almost 42,000 and reported deaths numbered almost 1,100," said de Villa.

“I realize that I depict a very stark picture here … but one that is honest and true and premised on the data that we have in front of us. Given this is our current situation it is my belief that we must … absolutely implement stronger measures to avoid the type of results that we are seeing in places like NYC." 

While Toronto has announced 628 confirmed cases in the city, the province has just seen their cases hit over 2,000. 

According to the Government of Ontario's website, 2,392 cases have been recorded throughout the province as of Wednesday morning, with 37 deaths.