You may have heard in the news that Brampton unfortunately is a Covid hotspot in the General Toronto Area (GTA). Recent numbers show us that Peel Region has reported 1,180 cases since August 1, 2020 compared to the City of Toronto which reported 1,357 cases for the same time frame. The problem is that Toronto (with 2.9 million) has almost twice the population of Peel Region (with 1.5 million) yet the number of cases is comparable.
These numbers tell us that any Provincial plan to tackle this problem must go beyond blaming a few partygoers and bars. There is a strong case for more and wider testing especially in these hotspots to contain outbreaks. Also, I would like to speak to my fellow Toronto residents and say it is time to become less Toronto centric since many people live in Peel yet work in Toronto and vice versa. Therefore, any solution must consider that Peel and Toronto are in this problem together. After all, we have several Covid hotspots in Toronto as well.
We all need to demand our members of provincial Parliament more testing and improved contact tracing now otherwise we will be looking at the very real possibility of a Covid second wave in the GTA.
High Park Engineer 