Graphics: Oakville News
emergency order extension
The provincial government announced this morning that both Ontario's State of Emergency and the emergency orders that can be enacted during the state have been extended again. May 6th's release says both the state and orders will remain in effect until at least end of day Tuesday May 19th 2020.
Ontario's announcement this morning comes as disappointing news for residents across Oakville and the province alike. Many were encouraged by the plateaued number of new confirmed cases of Covid-19 amidst increased testing. But the most important number in measuring how well Ontario is managing isn't by the a decline in new cases.
The most important number is whether the number of unresolved cases is going up or down. Unresolved cases is the number of Covid-19 cases are STILL sick. While an ever increasing number of thousands of Ontario residents is scary, tracking active cases is the more critical metric.
And here's the good news: the number of unresolved cases in Ontario is steadily declining.
What the Data Shows
An Oakville News study of the province's reported data shows that the number of active (unresolved) cases in Ontario is noticeably declining. Today's figures (for May 6th 2020) show a three week low, graphing the data of confirmed active cases from the last 22 days. The figures show:
- There has been a 25.5% decrease in active cases in Ontario in the last week (since last Tuesday)
- While the number of daily new deaths is stagnant, daily recoveries are increasing and daily new cases is decreasing
- Today's number of active cases is the lowest since April 23rd's most recent emergency orders extension
Today's announcement from the province comes as a necessary precaution, noting this decline isn't enough to begin further phased re-openings of the province.
"It is absolutely necessary to extend these emergency orders," says Premier Doug Ford. "This is to continue keeping all Ontarians safe and healthy."
This differs from yesterday afternoon's press conference where Ford's expressed optimism on new guidelines his government set. The first of these were set to begin before the upcoming holiday weekend.
A traditional extension of emergency orders is 14 days at a time. Today's announcement is different because a 13 day extension for both the state of emergency and its orders is unusual.
What continued Orders mean
Emergency orders include several special actions the provincial government can take under a state of emergency. Current orders include the closing of schools, parks, public areas and select businesses. This also limits public and private gatherings to no more than 5 people.
One positive result of the continued orders is reduced electricity and power costs. Ford announced today the off-peak rates will remain in place at all times until May 31st.
But despite the promising decline in unresolved cases, all emergency orders are still in place. The revised scehduled end date for the orders is Wednesday, May 20th at 12:01am.
