Doug Ford Will Reportedly Announce Even Stricter Health Measures For Ontario Today

More public health measures could be coming shortly for Ontario, as Premier Doug Ford is expected to make an announcement Monday morning.

According to CityNews Toronto, Ford met with his cabinet on January 2 to discuss potential measures in order to curb the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant in the province.

Some of the restrictions that could be introduced might include closing down gyms, putting a ban on indoor dining, and potentially extending school closures for another two weeks.

Sources to CTV News Toronto said that indoor gathering sizes could shrink again from 10 to 5 people, capacity limits at essential and non-essential retail stores could get chopped to 50% and 25%, respectively, and ticketed events could be cancelled.

Personal care services and weddings might also see some new limitations, too.

If Ford's cabinet approves of these measures, they could reportedly take effect starting this week on Wednesday.

The Ford administration has reimposed several restrictions amid growing concerns about the Omicron variant.

As of December 31, capacity limits at large venues like sporting arenas and movie theatres shrunk, COVID-19 testing and isolation periods were changed and the government delayed in-person learning by two days.

Since December 19, Ontario cut indoor gathering sizes down to 10 people and furthered restrictions on restaurants and bars with earlier closing times.

The news of the reported public health measures comes after Ontario saw over 16,000 new COVID-19 cases on December 31.

Ford, alongside Health Minister Christine Elliott, and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore, are expected to make an announcement at 11 a.m.