Ontario's Top Doctor Says We Could Go Back To Some Stage 1 & 2 Restrictions
The province's top doctor says we could be seeing some Ontario stage one restrictions being put in place if COVID-19 cases keep rising.
In a Thursday press conference, Dr. David Williams, Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health, revealed that changing restrictions won't be as simple as moving backward or forward into the next stage this time.
Instead, the province will be taking a targeted approach to shut down select businesses and regions which are contributing to the numbers most, if needed.
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It's not just a repeat of stage two. It may be similar to stage two but applied with a more methodical metric.
Dr. Williams
This means that certain spots could see restrictions go back to stage two or even stage one throughout the second wave.
"Even if they were opened up after stage one to two, we might choose to close them down and leave other ones open."
Dr. Williams pointed out differences this time around, mainly that the three phases were previously being used to open the whole province back up, not shut down.
"It was set up in a different perspective," he noted.
He said that this time, officials are focusing on where the outbreaks and hot spots are and are taking a more regional approach, compared to when restrictions applied to all of Ontario.