As Ontario's COVID-19 cases surge, the province says it may be forced to impose more restrictions from Stage 2 and even Stage 1 in order to slow the spread of Coronavirus in the hardest hit hotspots.
UPDATE: Friday, October 2, 2020 at 2:00 p.m.
Premier Ford announces several changes to the rules in Ontario at a press conference this afternoon.
- Ontario will NOT be moving into a colour-coded "zone" system for identifying hotspots.
- Citizens are advised to tighten social circles and only be in close contact with people in their own households.
- Walk-in tests for COVID-19 will end province-wide this Sunday, October 4th.
- Beginning Tuesday, October 6th, all COVID-19 tests in Ontario will be by appointment only.
- Restaurant tables are now limited to a maximum of six people, and full dining rooms are limited to 100 people in total. (Banquet halls are now six people per table and 50 people in total.)
- Additional business reopenings are being paused for an additional 28 days.
- Masks are now required in all shopping malls and on all public transit province-wide.
ORIGINAL STORY: Friday October 2nd at 12:00 p.m.
Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams spoke yesterday, saying the province will take a targeted, regional approach if a decision is made forcing more businesses to close temporarily.
The liklihood of this happening is even higher as of this morning, with Ontario reporting its highest day of new infections to date (732) for October 2, 2020. The backlog of unprocessed tests has also grown to 90,000.
"It's not just a repeat of Stage 2," Williams said. "It may be similar to Stage 2, but applied with a more methodical metric and going at it in a way that's backed up by local data."
That means, according to Williams, Ontario will use local data to decide what areas of the province's economy are contributing to the spread of the disease. This could also be different from region to region.
If cases continue to grow exponentially, or even at the province's current doubling rate of 10-12 days, then Stage 1 restrictions might also be imposed again. A report from CBC suggests Ontario's regions or cities might begin to be labelled in a colour-coded zone system similar to Quebec's. Officials with the premier's office and the Ministry of Health declined to confirm or deny this.
Meanwhile, Williams said that any new measures would be introduced regionally in order to combat the spread of COVID-19 in the province's hotspots.
"Even if they (businesses) were opened up after Stage 1 to 2, we might choose to close them down and leave other ones open. We have to be much more strategic and much more targeted and meticulous."
Premier Doug Ford said yesterday that "some of the toughest days lay ahead" in the province's fight against COVID-19. Williams is also "strongly recommending" that Ontario does not close schools.