U of T COVID-19 update

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During the week of Jan. 3, Toronto Public Health and Peel Public Health informed the University of Toronto of changes to their case and contact management practices to align with the Government of Ontario’s testing eligibility and case and contact management requirements announced in late December. 

 

Toronto and Peel public health staff are prioritizing case and contact management for only the highest-risk settings. As a result, U of T is no longer receiving official Public Health notifications of positive COVID-19 cases amongst our campus communities. For this reason, as of Jan. 10, 2022, we have paused reporting on our case tracking dashboard.

 

Members of our community present on one of our three campuses or U of T-operated premises who experience COVID-19 symptoms should continue to notify U of T’s occupational health nurses at ehs.occhealth@utoronto.ca, who will provide case management.

In an effort to keep everyone informed, the University of Toronto is posting the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases among members of the U of T community. Data is published every Monday (Tuesday after a long weekend) and Thursday.

It is essential that all members of our community follow the procedures linked below for reporting cases. Our Health & Safety office works with local public health officials on case management, conducts contact tracing and speaks directly with individuals who have been exposed to either a suspected or a confirmed case.

Whether an individual reports a confirmed case or tells us they have COVID-19 related symptoms without a confirmation, we follow the same procedures of contact tracing and disinfection in our buildings. We also provide community notifications and cleaning notifications to those affected. These notifications are provided out of an abundance of caution and do not signal elevated risk or require any further action by individuals, other than those who are contacted directly by the Health & Safety Office.

NOTE: As of Jan. 3, 2022, due to changes in eligibility for testing driven by increasing COVID-19 cases related to the Omicron variant, case counts in this report are likely an underestimate of the number of individuals with COVID-19.

Tracking COVID-19 on our campuses

Last updated: Jan. 6, 2022, 2:15 p.m. ET

Please note, not all new cases reported on campus were acquired or transmitted on campus. These are members of our community who have reported to the Occupational Health & Safety Office that they have tested positive and have been on a campus recently.

4

Mississauga campus

10

St.George campus

0

Scarborough campus

Number of confirmed new cases that were present on one of the three campuses

( to )

Tracking COVID-19 in members of our community

Last updated: Jan. 6, 2022, 2:15 p.m. ET

Please note, these numbers reflect cases among all members of our community that have been reported to us. These individuals may not have been physically present at the university, and exposure may not have occurred on our campuses. These are simply members of our community who have reported to the Occupational Health & Safety Office that they have tested positive whether they have been on campus or not. As a result, the total number of new cases in our community may not equal the number of new cases on our campuses reported above, which are included in this count. The U of T community is made up of more than 100,000 students, faculty and staff. Some individuals, such as contractors, will not be included in these counts.

112

Number of confirmed new cases reported to us by our community

( to )

New COVID-19 outbreaks on our campuses

Last updated: Jan. 6, 2022, 2:15 p.m. ET

U of T’s Environmental Health and Safety team works closely with Toronto Public Health and Peel Public Health on COVID-19 case management, including when outbreaks are reported. Newly confirmed outbreaks will be reported here and are generally recorded the following Monday (or Tuesday following a holiday Monday) in the historical data table below.

0

Mississauga campus

0

St.George campus

0

Scarborough campus

Number of new outbreaks confirmed on our three campuses

( to )

U of T protocols for COVID-19

Students, staff, faculty and librarians who think they may have COVID-19 symptoms (e.g. fever, cough, difficulty breathing, etc.) should stay home, not work, self-isolate and complete the province’s self-assessment tool to determine if they should go to a COVID-19 assessment centre to get tested.

If they test positive for COVID-19 they should immediately take the following actions:

  • Report this result directly to U of T’s Occupational Health Nurse by email at ehs.occhealth@utoronto.ca.
  • Employees should report their sickness to their manager in accordance with departmental processes.
  • Students should complete the self-declaration form.

The Environmental Health & Safety team will work with the appropriate offices to inform those who have had contact with the individual at U of T, in keeping with public health directives. Public health authorities may also contact exposed persons as is their usual practice. Please note: All contact tracing for the University will be conducted by the Occupational Health Nurse. Please make sure the university has your most up-to-date contact information to make this process more seamless.

The University respects the privacy of individuals who are being tested or who have tested positive for COVID-19, and the information will be kept confidential.

For the most current information, please visit the EHS COVID-19 webpage.

Historical data (to December 24)

Numbers in this section are updated each Monday.

Cases:

From the start of the pandemic in March 2020 to the latest Monday update, 556 cases were reported by members of the U of T community.

Please note, these individuals may not have been physically present at the university, and exposure may not have occurred on our campuses. These are simply members of our community who have reported to the Occupational Health and Safety Office that they have tested positive whether they have been on campus or not. The U of T community is made up of more than 100,000 students, faculty and staff.

Outbreaks:

From the start of the pandemic in March 2020 to the latest Monday update, 16 outbreaks were confirmed on our campuses.

Time period
Number of confirmed cases in our community
Number of new outbreaks confirmed on our campuses
to
57
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25
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0