Coronavirus: Latest developments in the Greater Toronto Area on Jan. 6

Share:

Here are the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic in the Greater Toronto Area for Wednesday.

Nurse from Mississauga nursing home dies from COVID-19

Maureen Ambersley, a registered practical nurse, has died after contracting COVID-19, the union that represents more than 60,000 Ontario healthcare workers said.

SEIU Healthcare said Ambersley worked at an Extendicare nursing home in Mississauga. The union said she was a nurse for 16 years.

Ambersley passed away on Tuesday and was 57 years old. She leaves behind two children and her parents, the union said.

The Ontario government said it is launching a pilot program starting Wednesday that will test international travellers returning to the province for COVID-19 at Toronto Pearson International Airport as a way to identify and stop the spread of the virus.

The announcement comes as the federal government’s regulations requiring incoming travellers to provide a negative PCR COVID-19 test within 72 hours come into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Jan. 7.

Regardless if a person tests negative for the test at the airport, international travellers will still be required to self-isolate for 14 days as part of the federal mandatory quarantine.

4 employees at St. Lawrence Market test positive

City of Toronto officials say four employees who work at the St. Lawrence Market have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

The employees last worked at the market on Dec. 24, 26 and 31, a news release issued Wednesday said.

“The City is advising the public of these cases in the interest of transparency,” the release said.

“The risk to the general public is low, as the interactions with employees with infections would have been brief (lasting one to two minutes), while employees and patrons were wearing masks and maintaining physical distance as much as possible.”

All close contacts have seen been notified, officials said.