Key sentence:
- The Doug Ford government is considering tougher COVID-19 restrictions as Ontario continues to see record-breaking daily new cases.
- According to sources, the government is considering imposing restrictions on gyms, personal care services, banquet halls, and weddings.
As Ontario continues to see record-breaking daily new cases, the Doug Ford government considers tougher COVID-19 restrictions.
According to CTV News Toronto, Premier Doug Ford meets with his cabinet on Sunday to discuss possible measures to preserve hospital capacity and keep schools open as the Omicron variant spreads.
According to sources, new restrictions being considered include banning indoor dining, lowering indoor and outdoor gathering limits (from 10 to 5 people, all of whom must be fully vaccinated), and reducing capacity at essential retail to 50% and 25% for non-essential retail.
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According to sources, the government is considering imposing restrictions on gyms, personal care services, banquet halls, and weddings.
Furthermore, the province is investigating the possibility of canceling ticketed events.
According to sources, if the measures are approved, the government plans to put them in place as soon as Wednesday, and they will remain in place for three weeks before being reassessed.
On the same day as the cabinet meeting, Ontario reported over 16,000 new cases of COVID-19. With over 18,000 new infections per day on Saturday, the province set a new record for the number of new infections per day.
Officials have stated that the figures are an underestimate due to testing limitations.
On Sunday evening, an infection control epidemiologist, Colin Furness, told CTV News Channel that the restrictions under consideration should have been implemented last month.
“We needed some of them in December, and I believe that would have kept things under control. Now, these restrictions will only serve to scratch the surface of a larger problem that we currently face: transmission that is wildly out of control, “Furness remarked.
“So, I don’t think that negotiating with the virus based on capacity limits will accomplish much. At the same time, I’m aware that people aren’t interested in proper closures, which would be required. So, we’re in a precarious situation.”
Source: CTV News
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