Ford says COVID-19 modelling numbers will be hard to hear

Ontario will release data Friday showing how many Ontarians could die from COVID-19 in various scenarios, Premier Doug Ford announced Thursday, warning that the projections will be hard to hear.

Ford had resisted calls to release that modelling as recently as Wednesday, saying there were many different scenarios, but said medical experts will now provide a public briefing.

“Over the next little while we will all have to make some very, very difficult decisions and you deserve the same information I have,” Ford said.

“You deserve to see the same data that I see when I’m making decisions. You deserve to know what I know when you’re making decisions for yourself, your family and your community.”

Ford said the numbers may be “a real wakeup call” to people who may be tempted to pack the beaches and the parks as the weather gets nicer.

“The truth is the situation is extremely, extremely serious,” Ford said. “Right now our best defence is to stay home, self isolate and don’t go out. It is a matter of life and death.”

Ontario’s chief medical officer of health needed time to compile figures that take into account the large influx of people, including snowbirds, returning to Canada and develop an accurate model, Ford said.

Nationally, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he isn’t able to share a national picture yet, but will be able to soon.

Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams, said the modelling will give people an idea of what to prepare for, of worstcase scenarios and how to shift the forecasts.