Ford Urges Canada To Keep U.S. Border Closed Longer, Says 'Look at Florida'
Doug Ford doesn't want to see cross-border travel for a while. Ontario's Premier insisted on Thursday, June 25 that the Canada-U.S. border needs to stay shut for a long time yet. Ford pointed to case spikes in Florida and other southern states as what the province needs to avoid.
The Premier has not been shy in the past in making his feelings known about travel between the States and Canada during the current pandemic.
And he doubled down on Thursday during his live briefing, insisting that the current proposed reopening date of July 21 is too soon.
"I talked to an expert... and he said 'you know when the second wave is going to happen? When you fully open up and you let people from around the world come back into Canada,’” Ford told reporters on Thursday.
“I know it’s inevitable and we've got to do it. I just don’t think we are ready right now," he added.
"You see what’s happening down in the states. You look at Florida, you look at Texas, Arizona, California. I don’t want to be those states. I want to protect the people here in Ontario and I just think we are opening it up too early if the decision is made on July 21."
The Premier's talk of Florida, among other states, is no coincidence.
The Sunshine State has been plagued by case spikes since reopening much of its economy and suffered a record single-day surge of 5,499 new cases on Wednesday.
That means it has now had 114,018 COVID-19 cases in total, over 11,000 more than the entirety of Canada.
Meanwhile, Texas has halted its fast-track reopening plans after suffering 11,000 new cases in the last two days alone.
Ford sounds desperate to avoid similar surges happening in Ontario.
He continued: "I just don’t think we’re ready for people south of the border. Believe me, I love the Americans, make no mistake about it, but not when their COVID cases are spiking right now.
"I’m just not in favour. I've got to protect the people of Ontario."
That's not going to help some Toronto-based athletes, though.
Numerous Blue Jays players and staff have reportedly tested positive for the virus. The team shut down their training camp in Dunedin, Fla. late last week amid speculation of infections.
Meanwhile, the NBA still intends to hold a rejigged season at Disney World in Orlando this summer.
The Toronto Raptors have headed to the state weeks early to practice, as coming back to the 6ix would require further isolation even if the border was open.