Public health mantra shifts as city plans ‘recovery and restart’
The end of the beginning of the fight against COVID-19 is near, Toronto Mayor John Tory said on Wednesday, as the city and the province took steps toward bringing people and commerce back to city streets.
“We have started shifting from encouraging people to stay home as much as possible to encouraging people to keep their distance as much as possible,” Tory said at a city hall press conference.
Toronto residents are now being told they can go outdoors as long as they continue to stay two metres away from others and the city will create more space to make that easier, including closing some roads and expanding the city’s cycling network, after facing criticism that it was confining people too closely to home.
Tory’s announcement came on the heels of another major return to public life, with the province announcing earlier Wednesday that some businesses can begin reopening this week, including garden centres and nurseries on Friday, and hardware stores on Saturday. All retail stores with a street entrance — not just those deemed essential services — can reopen for curbside pickup on Monday.
“We’re looking ahead to the recovery and restart period,” Tory said.
“Like many cities, we are trying to find ways to protect livelihoods while also protecting lives and protecting health in a post-COVID world.”
The measures signal a dramatic departure from the city’s approach so far to fighting the spread of the virus, which saw residents hunkered down in their homes for nearly eight weeks, and which led the city last week to barricade High Park to prevent people from visiting the blooming cherry blossom trees in an effort to stem the spread of the virus that has killed 259,000 worldwide, including 504 in Toronto.
“That sounds like a really safe and smart way to start — minimally risky, and I kind of feel like we’ve earned it,” said Dr. David Fisman, an epidemiologist at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
Tory praised Toronto medical officer of health Dr. Eileen de Villa for her early advice encouraging people to remain home as much as possible. “It has protected the health of our city and its residents. It has saved lives,” he said.
De Villa said Wednesday that while walking outside it’s important to remember not to linger, but to keep a two-metre distance from others, and pass them quickly and courteously.
Last week, the rate of infections in the city began to slow, a product of the measures taken and the co-operation of residents, Tory and de Villa pointed out.
“This was the right and the responsible approach to take. But we know that people can’t stay home forever,” Tory said.
He said the city’s transportation services and Toronto Public Health are working together on a plan to provide more space for pedestrians, cyclists and transit riders to allow for better physical distancing.
He said the plan, called Active TO, will create more quiet streets. Calming measures are to be introduced quickly on certain streets, in particular in areas where there is a lack of park space, allowing for only local car traffic, pedestrians and cyclists.
The routes will also include areas around parks in an effort to ease congestion in the parks themselves.
“These quiet streets will roll out fairly quickly, and our initial target will be 50 kilometres of quiet streets,” Tory said. “Oakland, Portland and San Francisco … have already adopted similar quiet street projects.”
Also as part of the Active TO plan, transportation staff and public health are recommending closing some major roads adjacent to trails or recreational attractions where there has been major crowding on weekends and holidays. The roads will be completely closed to traffic in order to keep pedestrians safe, Tory said.
“Staff will be monitoring the entire experience, including the impact on adjacent routes, using real-time data and we will make adjustments as necessary,” he added.
Tory said some new bike lanes will be temporary but the city will also expedite development of the cycling plan that city council has already approved, including Bloor Street West, Borden-Brunswick, DouroWellington, Argyle Street, Dewson/Roxton, Shuter Street, York University and Downsview cycling connections, the Eglinton West trail, the Highland Creek trail, the Don Mills access trail and the East Don trail.
Some of the bicycle routes are in areas that mirror TTC routes, Tory pointed out.
“We know we will need a safety valve for our transit system because some people may be hesitant to ride the TTC for a period of time for health-related reasons. Some of these cycling routes are still being identified, along with how they would be implemented as quickly as possible.”
Advocates who have been calling on Toronto to give more street space to pedestrians and cyclists during the crisis said they were still waiting for full details of the city’s plan, but called the initial signs encouraging.
“This is something we’ve been looking for so Toronto can fall in line with what we’re seeing in other world cities,” said Anne
Harris, an epidemiologist at Ryerson University who last month wrote to Tory and de Villa asking them to close some roads to car traffic.
Harris said protecting new bike lanes and pedestrian spaces from car traffic will be key for keeping cyclists and pedestrians safe.
Amanda O’Rourke, executive director of 8 80 Cities, a nonprofit that advocates for more inclusive public spaces, said that while Toronto has lagged behind cities like Milan and Paris in terms of freeing up space for pedestrians and cyclists during the COVID-19 emergency, she was encouraged by the new steps
“Better late than never, and if you’re going to do it later, it’s good to see that it’s quite vast,” she said.
Dr. Andrew Morris, an infectious disease specialist at Sinai Health and University Health Network, said the changes being made are reasonable.
“Encouraging people to get outside moving about and being safe, I think that’s a good idea, and I think most of my colleagues would agree with that,” he said.
Before reopening further, he cautioned, the government should release plans for scaling up contact tracing and implementing broad disease surveillance to catch more cases.
“Those should be pillars of a strategy to move forward,” Morris said.
Tory said Premier Doug Ford told him Tuesday night of the plan to allow some businesses to reopen and said he reminded the premier of Toronto’s unique circumstances — densely packed businesses and streets and a significant number of COVID-19 infections.
He said the city will discourage blowout reopening sales that could trigger lineups and will act quickly to prevent crowding.
John Kiru, executive director of TABIA, an umbrella group representing Toronto’s merchant associations, said he was delighted by the decision to open some businesses.
“While this is a small step, it does recognize the importance of small businesses within our communities and to the economy of the city and the province.”
He urged retailers to enforce physical distancing because that will dictate how quickly more businesses may open.
Tory said he agrees with those who describe the past eight weeks as the end of the beginning of the pandemic.
“The beginning of the war against this virus is ending. It’s not over yet, but it is nearer to the end than the beginning. But there is a long road ahead of us to get back to anywhere near our normal lives.”