TORONTO -- Ahead of what is expected to be the warmest weekend of the year in Toronto so far, Ontario Premier Doug Ford is continuing to caution residents to practice social distancing as COVID-19 “is still right on the front doorstep.”
“We have to be super cautious,” Ford said during his daily news conference held at Queen’s Park on Friday afternoon. “We aren’t even close right now. We are getting there and I’m feeling positive so just hang in there for a little bit – we’re almost there.”
Last weekend, Toronto saw some sun with a high of 13 C on Saturday, but received some showers on Sunday with a high of 11 C.
Many residents, who have been spending majority of their time indoors over the last several weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, stepped outside and enjoyed the sunshine on Saturday, causing some crowding in popular outdoor areas of the city, making social distancing efforts nearly impossible.
This coming weekend, even higher temperatures are expected and after a rainy week in the city, showers are not in the forecast Saturday or Sunday. A high of 18 C is expected for Saturday with some clouds and a high of 21 C is expected for Sunday.
Furthermore, as Ontario health officials have announced the province has reached its peak in the number of cases of the novel coronavirus, Ford has started announcing his government’s plans to reopen the economy.
Speaking on Friday, however, Ford cautioned that this doesn’t mean Ontario is out of the woods quite yet.
“Even when we reopen the economy a little bit, people have to practice social distancing, they just have to,” he said. “We’ve come all this way and everyone has worked so hard.”
“Why go backwards based on having warm weather? That time will come and hopefully it’s going to come sooner than later that we can open up some parks and recreational areas, but even when we do, you have to practice social distancing.”
“You have to make sure you social distance until we get way, way ahead of this.”
Currently in Ontario, provincial parks and conservation areas remain closed under emergency order. As well, all outdoor recreational facilities, including playgrounds, sports fields and off-leash dog parks remain closed across the province.
