New report issued by the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) that COVID-19 is spreading through communities and nursing homes, but the lack of official public reporting means that people have largely been left in the dark about the recent increase in cases.

"This may be the last update with reliable information in LTC because as of October 14, the Ministry of Long-Term Care issued new guidelines limiting testing to residents with symptoms, removing testing requirements upon admission.

said the OHC statement on Friday. "Staff infections will no longer contribute to outbreaks and homes will now self-report their cases with an epi link that will assist in reporting cases in homes."

Canada’s COVID-19 resources estimate that on average since December, at least 48,349 Ontario residents have been infected daily for the first time. Current Ontario Public Health data up to October 8 reveals that 16.4% of the population have received two primary doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and two booster doses.

Half the population received a booster dose and 80.6% received at least two doses.

"It’s not just that the government and public health are no longer reporting much of the data previously available, but they have also cut testing and abandoned tracing and isolation measures.

Regardless, some data is available and infectious disease specialists have taken on the challenge of identifying virus transmission using wastewater, serology, and other evidence."

Editor: Yasra Bamtraf