Ford considering moving Ontario to Step 2 of reopening on June 30, sources say
Premier Doug Ford is considering moving up the second step of Ontario's economic reopening by two days and is set to make the final decision during a cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday, CTV News Toronto has learned.
If approved, sources say Step 2 of the economic reopening would be bumped up to June 30, allowing personal care services and larger outdoor gatherings to resume.
It was originally scheduled for July 2, which is 21 days since Ontario entered Step 1.
Premier Ford was asked about speeding up the reopening process on Wednesday, while announcing the ground-breaking of the future three-stop Scarborough subway extension in Toronto.
“We’re working to get to Stage 2 as quickly as possible and Step 3, as soon as it’s safe, after that,” Ford said.
The news comes amid a surge in vaccination rates and as COVID-19 cases across Ontario continue to trend downwards in recent weeks.
In fact, on Tuesday, Ontario met the vaccination thresholds required to enter the third and final step of its economic reopening weeks ahead of schedule, with 76 per cent of residents aged 18 and above having received their first dose, while 25 per cent of the adult population has been fully vaccinated.
However, the province’s top health officials have made clear that the province would wait a minimum of 21 days before advancing to the next stage of reopening.
Ford said that Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams and Minister of Health Christine Elliott are currently reviewing Ontario’s COVID-19 case data as it pertains to reopening.
He said the pair will be coming out with an announcement on the matter “very shortly.”
Based on the original schedule, Ontarians had been expecting to enter Step 3, which allows for the most lenient of public health restrictions, on July 23 at the earliest.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trudeau calls violence in Montreal 'appalling' as NATO protest continues
Anti-NATO protesters gathered again in Montreal on Saturday to demand Canada withdraw from the alliance, a day after a demonstration organized by different groups resulted in arrests, burned cars and shattered windows.
7 suspects, including 13-year-old, charged following 'violent' home invasion north of Toronto
Seven teenage suspects, including a 13-year-old, have been arrested following a targeted and “violent” home invasion in Vaughan on Friday, police say.
These vascular risks are strongly associated with severe stroke, researchers say
Many risk factors can lead to a stroke, but the magnitude of risk from some of these conditions or behaviours may have a stronger association with severe stroke compared with mild stroke, according to a new study.
Widow of Chinese businessman who was executed for murder can sell her Vancouver house, court rules
A murder in China and a civil lawsuit in B.C. have been preventing the sale of multiple Vancouver homes, but one of them could soon hit the market after a court ruling.
Cher 'shocked' to discover her legal name when she applied to change it
Cher recalls a curious interlude from her rich and many-chaptered history in her new book 'Cher: The Memoir, Part One.'
Black bear killed in self-defence after attack on dog-walker in Maple Ridge, B.C.
A black bear has died following a brawl with a man on a trail in Maple Ridge, B.C.
Retiring? Here's how to switch from saving for your golden years to spending
The last paycheque from a decades-long career arrives next Friday and the nest egg you built during those working years will now turn into a main source of income. It can be a jarring switch from saving for retirement to spending in retirement.
Canadian neurosurgeons seek six patients for Musk's Neuralink brain study
Canadian neurosurgeons in partnership with Elon Musk's Neuralink have regulatory approval to recruit six patients with paralysis willing to have a thousand electrode contacts in their brains.
Police thought this gnome looked out of place. Then they tested it for drugs
During a recent narcotics investigation, Dutch police said they found a garden gnome made of approximately two kilograms of MDMA.