Too early to see effect of new restrictions

City’s top doctor believes recent COVID surge linked to Thanksgiving

It will take more time to know whether renewed restrictions in Toronto are helping to dampen the transmission of COVID-19, the city’s medical officer of health said Monday.

“I don’t think we have yet seen the full impact,” said Dr. Eileen de Villa, speaking at a COVID-19 update from city hall.

“I look forward to seeing what comes in the next few weeks.” The number of new COVID-19 infections in the province hit new highs on the weekend, with Ontario reporting 978 new cases on Saturday and 1,042 on Sunday.

On Monday, Toronto reported another 300 cases, while the number of hospitalizations climbed to 132, an increase of 17 people in one day, according to Toronto Public Health.

“I think it’s reasonable to think that part of the surge we’re seeing in Toronto is tied to Thanksgiving,” de Villa said. “It’s been 14 days since Thanksgiving Monday.”

Cases also spiked two weeks after Labour Day.

Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario’s associate medical officer of health, said Monday there were a number of clusters related to family gatherings on Thanksgiving weekend.

She said that while the province’s total Monday — 851 cases — was down from the weekend, the seven-day average for new cases was up to 878, a 20 per cent increase over the prior week.

She said more than threequarters of cases in the past few

l, Ottawa and York, which are all in a modified Stage 2, with gyms shuttered and restrictions on indoor dining in place.

The seven-day average for positivity is also up to three per cent, compared to 2.6 per cent a week ago.

Yaffe noted that outbreaks are being seen among sports teams, including hockey and football teams in Ottawa.

She added that the person who triggered the well-documented outbreak at SpinCo in Hamilton likely contracted the virus in a bar in Toronto, and that people who are infected with COVID-19 are about three times more likely to have dined in a restaurant.

It’s been two weeks since gyms were closed and renewed restrictions on dining indoors were put in place in Toronto, but Mayor John Tory offered a glimmer of hope to business owners that re-opening will, at the very least, be thoroughly considered.

The renewed restrictions, imposed on Oct. 10, were initially set to last for 28 days.

Tory said that he has asked de Villa to prepare at least one scenario in which bars and restaurants and gyms can be safely re-opened at that time.

“I am, of course, not able to say today whether we will be in a position to adopt these kinds of scenarios on day 29, but I am determined to work with the province to see that we have them ready and I am extremely hopeful that we will, in fact, be in a position to do so,” Tory said.

“We need a safe path forward for our restaurants and other establishments.”

Tory said it’s difficult to balance public health priorities — keeping people safe from COVID-19, while also ensuring that doing so doesn’t create more negative health outcomes.

“People’s overall sense of wellbeing, their mental state, their employment and financial status and a number of other things are all a part of public health,” Tory said.

Lockdown measures are being met with protests in Quebec, where the owners of about 200 gym, dance, yoga and martial arts facilities say they plan to re-open Thursday in defiance of restrictions in place.