Ontario Officials Warn Of A 'Complicated And Difficult' Second Wave (VIDEO)
Health officials are starting to speak out about what Ontario's second wave might look like, and it doesn't look good. On Monday, the Minister of Health said that the second wave may in fact be more challenging than the first. However, the province is ready to take action.
When asked about the possibility of a second wave, Ford did not hold back.
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“Is it coming? Yeah, I believe it’s coming as sure as I’m standing here,” he admitted.
The premier called out Ottawa, Toronto, and Peel for the uptick in cases, particularly those breaking protocol to attend gatherings and parties.
Health Minister Christine Elliott warned of the unique dangers of the upcoming wave and explained how it will differ from the first.
“I think it’s fair to say that the second wave is going to be more complicated and more difficult to deal with than the first wave,” she began.
“We [...] have flu season approaching in addition to having a reduced capacity in our hospitals.”
The reduced capacity is due to the limited space in long-term care homes, which led to residents moving into hospitals.
The demand for COVID-19 testing is also increasing. People all over the province are waiting for several hours for tests, CBC reports.
Ford addressed this in the briefing, saying that all provinces are working to increase testing capacity.
This will be crucial heading into winter, as waiting hours in sub-zero temperatures could become a problem.
Both Ford and Elliott were asked about moving regions back into stage 2 on Monday. While they said they were hesitant to do so, they "would if [they] had to."
However, Elliott assured Ontarians that the province was ready for anything.
"We’re prepared for the worst and we’re ready for it," she said.
"We have our fall plan ready to go and we’ll be rolling that out very shortly.”