RESTRICTIONS DEBATED Curfew

Not likely even as up to a third of Ontarians admit not following COVID guidelines //

TORONTO — New restrictions to fight skyrocketing rates of COVID-19 were being considered by Ontario’s cabinet Monday night, although a curfew was not one of them.

The discussion took place as the province hit the grim milestone of recording more than 5,000 deaths from the virus since the start of the pandemic.

Premier Doug Ford said residents can expect an announcement on new measures on Tuesday, when the province will also make new COVID-19 projections public.

“We worked all weekend ... right until late hours last night,” he said as he arrived at the legislature ahead of Monday night’s cabinet meeting.

“We’ll be going to cabinet with recommendations.”

Ford did not elaborate on the recommendations but has said the current provincial lockdown may need to be extended and stricter measures could be imposed if cases continue to soar.

Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario’s associate medical officer of health, said a curfew was not among the recommendations going before cabinet, adding that she had seen no evidence one would be effective.

She noted, however, that current trends in the province were “scary” and said as many as a third of residents surveyed reported they are not following public health guidelines.

“The bottom line is people know what they should be doing,” she said. “It’s a shame that we have to wait for government to force them into doing the right thing.”

The latest spike in cases can be attributed in part to people gathering over the holidays, growing outbreaks in longterm-care and retirement homes, and workplace outbreaks, Yaffe said.

More must be done to help residents comply with public health rules, she said, including instituting paid sick days, bringing in eviction protections, and making isolation hotels available.

“It’s not going to be an easy few weeks,” Yaffe said. “But what these trends demonstrate is that further actions are necessary.”

Officials in government and health-care have warned that surging cases are putting great strain on the health system.

Ontario has recorded well over 3,000 cases daily for the last week, with 3,338 new cases reported Monday.

It also reported 29 new deaths from COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the total number of deaths reported to 5,012 since the start of the pandemic. The government said 1,563 people are currently hospitalized with the virus, with 387 people in intensive care and 268 on ventilators.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath accused the Ford government of “stalling ” on new public health restrictions, a move she said will cost lives.

“Tougher measures are not only overdue, they must be backed by a major investment in immediate supports like paid sick days for every Ontarian, safe isolation facilities, and direct financial help for small business owners and individuals,” she said in a statement.