Here Are The New Measures That Could Apparently Get Announced Today In Ontario
Premier Doug Ford met with his cabinet on Thursday to weigh in on new COVID-19 measures in Ontario to help curb the sharp rise in cases.
Associate chief medical officer of health Dr. Barbara Yaffe said during Thursday's modelling presentation that Ontario has reached its worst point of the pandemic and that more restrictions are under consideration.
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Ford's government is reportedly thinking about shutting down all construction projects that are not considered critical, sources confirmed to CP24.
Indoor religious services and ceremonies like weddings and funerals, which are currently still allowed at a limited capacity, may also be banned.
The outlet states that a provincewide curfew is on the table; Quebec has recently reinstated its curfew in Montreal, which sparked violent protests in the city's Old Port.
It's reported that non-essential warehouse and manufacturing workplaces could face new restrictions and that there are talks of granting police greater enforcement powers — CP24 claims that the measures could be announced publicly on Friday.
Experts are calling on Ford to take action
Toronto critical care physician Dr. Michael Warner took to Twitter on Thursday with his best advice for the province to combat the worsening third wave.
He writes that, as of Saturday, Ford's government must "redefine 'essential' [and] close all other workplaces, provide humane protections for those with no choice but to continue to work, disallow indoor religious gatherings, and redirect vaccines to hotspots."
"[Half] measures won't work anymore," says Warner.
Another critical care physician, Dr. Brooks Fallis, said to CP24, "Right now, things are at such a critical moment. If we don't get this under control, the province is in such trouble, and so many people are going to die who don't need to."
"So now's the time to throw absolutely everything at it."