Ford Is Reportedly Considering Even Tougher Restrictions In Ontario Today

Doug Ford is apparently thinking about ramping up Ontario's COVID-19 restrictions even further.

According to Global's Travis Dhanraj and Cynthia Mulligan at CityNews, Ford is meeting with his cabinet today to consider new measures, and Ontario's updated modelling data will be released on Friday.

Editor's Choice: An Ontario Region Is Desperate To Stop A Big Outbreak From 'Spiralling Out Of Control'

The cabinet will be considering extending the stay-at-home order past May 6, potentially cracking down on non-essential employees not working from home, increasing police enforcement powers and implementing a curfew, reports Brian Lilley of the Toronto Sun.

This comes as Ontario recorded 4,736 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, breaking its single-day record for the second time this week.

Ontario is currently in the middle of a provincewide stay-at-home order, which prohibits Ontarians from leaving home for any reason that has not been deemed essential.

Here's how experts think Ontario should handle the third wave

Dr. Michael Warner, the medical director of critical care at Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto, says it's time for the federal government to step in and help Ontario's ICUs, which continue to fill up more and more as the third wave goes on.

He tweeted that Justin Trudeau needs to send ICU nurses from elsewhere in Canada to help in Ontario and that all "truly" non-essential workplaces have to close.

Epidemiologist Dr. Colin Furness told Narcity about 10 steps the province needs to take to fight against the third wave, including distributing vaccines to hotspots in the province and implementing paid sick days to stop people spreading COVID-19 at work.

"We have never done ANY of these things on the scale needed, which is why our lockdowns have been only partly effective," Furness said.