Shomporko Desk: One thousand Torontonians have currently died once catching COVID-19, marking a grim new milestone within the pandemic.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa confirmed the number in an announcement gave on Thursday, noticing that the fatalities speak to a “vast misfortune” for “such a significant number of people across our city and beyond.”
“It is so significant for us to pause for a minute, to look beyond these numbers, and recollect that each death represents a unique life. A person with an individual story, who affected us and our locale,” she said. “One thousand people have died from COVID-19 and have deserted companions, relatives and neighbours. These misfortunes are profoundly close to home for the individuals who knew and adored them.”
Toronto’s 1,000th COVID-19 death comes nearly three months after its first.
It was on March 21 that a man in his 70s that had returned from the United Kingdom passed away at Trillium Health Partners Hospital in Mississauga, becoming the first resident of the city to die after contracting the virus.
In her statement, De Villa said that the number of fatalities from COVID-19 in Toronto now significantly outpaces the 2003 SARS epidemic, which only resulted in 43 deaths across the GTA.
She said that it is also in line with the 1,000 Torontonians that die each year from heart attacks and related cardiovascular diseases.
“Sadly, given that the virus is still circulating and there is no effective treatment or vaccine, we should anticipate that we will continue to see deaths from COVID-19 in our community,” she warned. “We have already lost too many people to COVID-19 and we must do everything we can reasonably do to prevent any more deaths.”
In a statement issued on Thursday afternoon, Mayor John Tory said that the “sad milestone” should serve as a reminder that “we are facing a deadly virus” and that “the threat to more innocent lives remains very real. “
He also said that in the face of the staggering death toll it is important to “recognize each life lost here mattered to someone in our city.”
“We owe it to the memory of all those 1,000 souls to continue to fight this virus, to continue to follow public health advice to protect our families, and to make sure our city comes back stronger than ever,” he said.
Toronto now accounts for nearly 40 per cent of all COVID-19 deaths in Ontario.
Only Montreal has reported more deaths in people who have contracted COVID-19 among Canadian cities with 3,238.
Photo credit: RYAN REMIOR/THE CANADIAN PRESS
News source: CP24
