Ontario Ends Daily COVID-19 Reporting, Shifts to Weekly Updates Beginning June 16

A health-care worker takes information as people line up at a COVID assessment centre during the COVID-19 pandemic, in Toronto on Sept. 18, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette)

Ontario is changing its COVID-19 data reporting from a daily to a weekly basis this coming Thursday, June 16.

In a statement issued on June 10, the province’s health ministry said the transition is due to improvement in the COVID-19 situation and to lifting of the remaining mask rules on June 11.

“Starting on June 16th, Public Health Ontario (PHO) will move to weekly reporting and will publish the latest COVID-19 data each Thursday,” spokesperson Alexandra Hilkene said in the statement.

Ontario has been publishing data on COVID-19 case counts, hospitalizations, and intensive care admissions on its website daily since January 2020.

The daily update ends on June 11, but the data will still be available through the province’s Open Data Catalog.

The statement said PHO will continue to monitor trends and adjust its reporting content and frequency as needed in the weeks and months ahead.

The health ministry also said the province will “sunset other duplicative reporting” for settings such as long-term care and retirement homes, as well as schools.

“This information is available through other channels, including for example from local public health units and school boards,” the ministry said.

In addition, the statement stated that the province will remove the Verify Ontario mobile app, which was used for checking proof of vaccination, from app stores by June 24.