Procedure and House Affairs Committee on Dec. 10th, 2020

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

I understand that. That's for all of Ontario.

[Dr. David Williams]

Correct, of our many homes.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

How many long-term care residents have we lost in Ontario during the second wave?

[Dr. David Williams]

That's another data metric. Go ahead and ask another question while I look that up for you.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Okay. I will also be looking at the cumulative number since the pandemic began for long-term care, please.

[Dr. David Williams]

In the first wave, we were at 1,800.

We had another 17 deaths in long-term care yesterday, so we're getting close to around 500 for the second wave as compared to the first wave, which was 1,800.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

So, we're at 2,300. Thank you. We're all terribly saddened by this. What is the test positivity rate for Peel, please?

[Dr. David Williams]

The test positivity for Peel at the moment is 9.8%.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Thank you. And for York?

[Dr. David Williams]

York Region is 6.1%.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Thank you. And for Toronto?

[Dr. David Williams]

Toronto is 6.1%.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Do some neighbourhoods, for example, in Toronto, have a higher test positivity rate than the 6.1% you just gave?

[Dr. David Williams]

Yes.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Are different types of housing associated with different types of case growth?

[Dr. David Williams]

We're finding that it was more varied where you have high neighbourhood ethnic variation and you have multi-generational families in one residence. That seems to be more of a factor than socio-economic status per se. It does play a part. We see a higher risk in lower SES as well as a much bigger difference, almost, from the quintiles of racial diversity, the lowest being around 15 per 100,000 and the highest at the moment being 170 per 100,000.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Can you explain the 170 per 100,000, please?

[Dr. David Williams]

That means when we take our data and break it down to areas that have certain definitions, from the statisticians who do it, that have quintiles of neighbourhood racial diversity in areas, under postal codes. It goes from the lowest to the highest, and so the highest quintile has a rate, at the moment, that has increased up to 170 per 100,000, from the data we have from testing that, knowing that the testing penetration varies from area to area depending on cultural issues, access to testing facilities, etc.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Thank you very much.

Is asymptomatic testing happening in schools?

[Dr. David Williams]

Yes.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

In how many school boards is asymptomatic testing taking place, please?

[Dr. David Williams]

We're mostly doing it in the different health units or choosing different schools to go in and test. We're undergoing that process at the moment, doing some in different areas like Ottawa, Toronto, Peel—mostly in the hot zones. We're going in where there are no current outbreaks, but cases are coming to the school and they're in neighbourhoods of high transmission.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Right now, in how many schools is asymptomatic testing taking place, please?

[Dr. David Williams]

I'd have to look at our list, because we have a table that deals with that. There have been about eight to 10 so far. They have another eight, 12 or 13 coming up before the Christmas break, so there are different ones moving through elementary and secondary.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Perhaps you could table that with the committee, please.

During an election, say, for example, we look at Toronto and we see different neighbourhoods having different test positivity rates. Can mobility affect contacts?