31 Toronto neighbourhoods mark zero COVID-19 cases, including some hot spots
Dozens of Toronto neighbourhoods are currently COVID-19 free for the first time in months, according to data released by the city.
The latest data covering roughly 140 Toronto neighbourhoods shows 31 of these communities are reporting zero cases of the novel coronavirus.
Some neighbourhoods that are reporting no new cases are official COVID-19 hot spots, including Scarborough Village, Morningside, Thorncliffe Park and several others.
Ahmed Hussein, the CEO of The Neighbourhood Organization in Thorncliffe, told CTV News Toronto that his community has worked very hard to get where they are today.
Many of the communities in Toronto hot spots once perceived as “vaccine hesitant,” including Thorncliffe Park, showed up in masses to vaccination centres and pop-ups with people waiting hours to get their shot.
“This is good news for the work that we have done,” Hussein told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday, adding that mobile testing, bringing vaccines to people and appointing community ambassadors have played a major part in the success.
“The ambassadors live in the community, the same buildings, speak the language of the community and know people who are able to talk to people and have that conversation [about vaccines],” Hussein said.
“We worked hard to reduce the numbers of cases and also increase the vaccine uptake. We worked toward a goal that we provide information to the community.”
Many people in hot spot communities are essential workers who disproportionately bear the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Working front-line jobs throughout the pandemic, coupled with a lack of support from governments, residents in these areas became more vulnerable to contracting the disease.
Since the pandemic started, COVID-19 rates in hot spots were striking. Thorncliffe Park logged 9,617 cases per 100,000 people, Scarborough Village logged 11,068 cases per 100,000 people and Morningside logged 8,445 cases per 100,000 people.
In comparison, in more wealthy neighbourhoods, which got a head start on vaccinations and where many people worked from home, the case counts were much lower.
Forest Hill, which currently has nine cases, saw 2,246 cases per 100,000 people over the course of the pandemic and Lawrence Park South, another wealthy Toronto neighbourhood, saw 2,075 cases per 100,000 people and currently has no new cases.
In response to the disparity, health officials and community members are continuing to target hot spot regions in Toronto to increase vaccination rates.
“It is enormously, enormously satisfying to be able to report figures like these to you,” Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa said.
“I’m also sure there are many people who want to get vaccinated but can barely get everything else done in a day, who struggle to get vaccines close to home”
Hussein said the neighbourhoods his organization is supporting are not giving up their fight.
“This is the time now that you really have to do it in small groups, mobile teams, because this final group is the hard to reach people,” he said. “We have been successful in doing that and we want to enhance that.
“We won’t stop till everyone who is eligible for vaccine gets one.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Most of the city is evacuating': Gridlock on Alberta highway after evacuation order in Fort McMurray
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
Sask. police seize 1.5M pieces of evidence, lay 60 more charges in child exploitation case
Saskatchewan RCMP have revealed that a historic sexual assault investigation has led to the discovery of alleged crimes against children dating back to 2005.
Biden administration moving ahead on US$1 billion arms package for Israel, AP sources say
The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a new package of more than US$1 billion in arms and ammunition to Israel, two congressional aides said Tuesday.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Full List Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
'Inappropriate' behaviour shuts down Dublin to New York City portal
Less than a week after two public sculptures featuring a livestream between Dublin, Ireland, and New York City debuted, 'inappropriate behaviour' in real-time interactions between people in the two cities has prompted a temporary shutdown.
King Charles III unveils his first official portrait since his coronation
King Charles III has unveiled the first portrait of the monarch completed since he assumed the throne, a vivid image that depicts him in the bright red uniform of the Welsh Guards against a background of similar hues.
About 1,000 wildfires confirmed so far this year: Here's a quick look at the situation in Canada
Nearly 1,000 wildfires have burned across Canada so far this year. Here's an overview of the situation in Canada.
American sought after 'So I raped you' Facebook message detained in France on 2021 warrant
An American accused of sexually assaulting a Pennsylvania college student in 2013 and later sending her a Facebook message that said, 'So I raped you,' has been detained in France after a three-year search.