Tougher measures to be unveiled
Curfew reportedly not included, but state of emergency possible
The details of additional measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Ontario are to be unveiled Tuesday.
Ontario reported more than 3,000 new cases of COVID-19 for the eighth straight day Monday. The province is seeing the impact of holiday gatherings on COVID-19 transmission and will continue to do so in the wake of New Year's as the two-week incubation period stretches on, said Dr. Barbara Yaffe, the province's associate chief medical officer of health. “It's not going to be an easy few weeks, but what these trends demonstrate is that further actions are necessary.”
A curfew is not among the new measures, said senior government sources with knowledge of the steps being considered. However, Premier Doug Ford is reportedly considering whether to declare a provincial state of emergency.
The premier declared a state of emergency in March as the COVID-19 pandemic was taking hold in Ontario. It ended in July, when the Reopening Ontario Act came into force. According to the province, the Act allows for the limited amendment of certain emergency orders, but doesn't allow new orders to be created.
The government is also set to make new COVID-19 projections public Tuesday.
Ford has said those figures are very concerning and warned of “rough waters” ahead.
Surging cases are putting great strain on the health-care system, say health-care officials. During the first wave of the pandemic in Ontario, hospitalizations peaked at 1,043 COVID-19 patients. On Monday, the province reported that 1,563 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, exceeding the previous record high, set the previous day.
In Ottawa, there are now 29 people hospitalized with COVID-19, with 10 in ICU. Ten days ago, there were 12 people in hospital, with six in ICU. One of the patients in ICU is between 10 and 19 years old. Two of those hospitalized are in their 20s.
Four new Ottawa outbreaks of the virus were declared over the weekend in health-care/congregate-living institutions, according to OPH data, including the Colonel By retirement home (one staff case), Grace Manor LTC home (one staff case), Hillel Lodge LTC home (one staff case) and a local group home (one staff case, one resident case). A new outbreak involving one child and one staff case at Andrew Fleck Children's Services was also declared.
There are also now eight ongoing outbreaks associated with community settings, with two new ones reported Monday.
Over the weekend, Ottawa bylaw officers tasked with patrolling the city's skating rinks and sledding hills issued almost 500 verbal warnings to people failing to follow the rules about masks, physical distancing, playing hockey and bringing hockey equipment onto city rinks.
There were several occasions when officers had to ask all residents using amenities to disperse because new 25-person capacity limits were being exceeded, said bylaw and regulatory services director Roger Chapman.
There are also several ongoing investigations in response to complaints over the weekend about private social gatherings, Chapman said.
Officers also saw multiple instances of people skating or playing hockey on stormwater ponds, which is always prohibited to protect public safety, he said.
In Quebec, now under an 8 p.m.-to-5 a. m. curfew, Gatineau police reported that they made 411 checkups and issued 21 tickets on Saturday, the first night. An additional four tickets were issued to groups violating gathering limitations.