Ontario won’t allow bubble families yet

Top doctor reluctant to loosen rules as COVID-19 cases rise in province

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Canadians to keep following public health orders heading into summer, as rising COVID-19 cases and high-profile misbehaviour in a Toronto park over the weekend threatened to derail Ontario’s reopening plans.

Canada’s most populous province, one of the hardest hit in the pandemic, had been contemplating letting more than one family to link up in socalled “bubbles” and allowing gatherings of more than five people.

But Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said Monday that the province’s top doctor is reluctant to loosen those rules yet.

“There is a concern with people creating groups that are too large,” she said.

Premier Doug Ford expressed frustration at the otherwise “smart young people” who crowded into Trinity Bellwoods Park in Toronto on a warm, sunny Saturday.

“It was like a rock concert without the band,” he said Monday.

But he said the recklessness on display at Trinity Bellwoods was not a reason to reinstitute some of the restrictions already removed.

“I’m not going to punish the whole province because a group of people in Toronto ended up getting together,” he said. “Like, 99.9 per cent of the people are phenomenal.”

The premier added officials will be keeping a sharp eye on the numbers and it’s too soon to say how they could play into Ontario’s future reopening plans.

“Everything’s on the table, but we’re very cautious,” he said. “As soon as we see these numbers climb a bit, you get a little gun shy.”

In Ottawa, Trudeau said Canadians will have to keep adjusting their routines as the weather warms up.

“Our approach will have to be tailored to each community,” he said.

“That means the rules and public health recommendations you’re asked to follow may be different depending on where you live and that can be confusing.”

But Trudeau said no matter where they live, everyone has the responsibility to try to stay two metres away from others, and wear a mask in public when physical distancing isn’t possible.

Out west, in Calgary and the city of Brooks in southeastern Alberta, restaurants, bars, hair salons and barbershops that had been left out of Alberta’s first reopening phase were also allowed to resume on Monday. The delay in those cities was due to a high number of COVID-19 caseloads.