Ontario not on 'safe ground' yet to lift more COVID-19 restrictions, science table director says
The scientific director of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table says the province should not rush into lifting capacity limits in more places, suggesting that the earliest further easing of restrictions should be at the end of the month.
Dr. Peter Juni told CP24 Thursday evening that Ontario needs to see the impact of the Thanksgiving long weekend and the recent removal of capacity limits for sports arenas and other large venues on COVID-19 case counts.
"What we need to be aware of right now is that we just made a really big step, which is dropping capacity limits in settings such as sports arenas. Now we need to figure out together with the impact of Thanksgiving, also what the impact will be on dropping these capacity limits," Juni said.
"Nobody knows. Nobody has been there with this vaccine coverage and with a Delta being dominant, so we need to see, needs three weeks from the moment we did that, meaning end of October."
Sources have told CTV News Toronto that the Ontario government is set to announce next week its plan to exit Step 3 of its reopening plan. It could lead to lifting remaining capacity limits at restaurants, gyms, and other settings that require proof of vaccination.
Last week, concert venues, sports stadiums and movie theatres were given the green light to operate again at 100 per cent capacity.
Many businesses excluded from the announcement, including restaurants, bars and gyms, voiced their disappointment and called on the province to immediately remove their capacity limits.
However, Juni said Ontario is not on safe ground yet to relax more COVID-19 restrictions.
"The point really is you do something and then you need to be patient and wait for three weeks to see what's happening," he said.
"I wouldn't like to be in our chief medical officers of health's shoes, but so far, he has done a great job, and I hope he can give a little bit of push back against some of the political pressure."
During a news conference Thursday afternoon, Dr. Kieran Moore, the province's top doctor, did say that he wants to see whether the Thanksgiving weekend would lead to an increase in cases before the province moves further.
He said that should the trends continue to be positive over the next seven to 14 days, capacity limits could then be lifted in sectors where proof of vaccination is required.
"This is a government decision. It is not mine. It is that of the government. But I hope that as we get through this weekend and get further insights on the impact of the potential spread during Thanksgiving that we will be able to make a recommendation to government to further open up businesses that have been adversely affected," Moore said.
Epidemiologist Raywat Deonandan agreed with Dr. Juni and said it is a bit early to proceed to the next step.
He echoed Juni's comments, saying Ontario should wait until the end of October before lifting more COVID-19 restrictions.
"We have a history in this province of doing things a bit too quickly, getting too excited. We look around the country and we see the lessons from other provinces that we cannot be arrogant with this disease," he said.
"We must be humble and wait to see what its effects are, what it requires of us before we act."
- With files from Chris Fox and CTV Toronto’s Colin D’Mello
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.