Ontario Staff Say 'COVID Fatigue' & Parties Are Getting More Young People Infected

Health staff have noticed a worrying trend. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on Monday, July 20 that he's "shocked" that more young people are getting COVID-19 in the province. Comfortably over half of the new cases announced on Monday are in people in their teens, 20s, or 30s.

Ontario's latest stats suggest that millennials and Gen Z residents are being hit harder by the virus than before, as the province continues its transition from stage two to stage three.

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On Monday, the province announced 135 new infections. Of those, 75 have hit people aged 39 or younger, and 23 of those cases are in teenagers under 19.

When asked at his daily media briefing if Ontario has a problem with younger residents not following health advice, Ford said he was "shocked" when he heard those numbers.

Health Minister Christine Elliott admitted a key reason for the trend is "a certain amount of COVID fatigue among our young people right now" after months of not being able to socialize as usual.

"Please remember that as we're opening up the ecomony, it's more important than ever before to please follow the public health rules."

In particular, Elliott noted it's "vitally important" for people to maintain just one social circle.

In other words, it's not suddenly fine to start holding massive parties, the likes of which have been seen in high-density areas like Toronto and Brampton.

Ford reiterated this point in no uncertain terms.

"Do the right thing," he begged. "Don't go to these parties, it's just not worth it."

The province has been noticing alarming case numbers in young people for several weeks now as certain areas began to open up and the hot summer weather hit Southern Ontario.

And just this weekend, Ottawa suffered its biggest case spike since May 21, something which the city's top doctor attributed to indoor parties.

Ford and Elliott's talk about the importance of maintaining one social circle and being sensible came in the same briefing as the news that much of the GTA can now progress to stage three.

Part of that progression permits the maximum limit on social gatherings to increase from 10 people to 50 people for indoor events and 100 for outdoor groups, as long as physical distancing remains in place.