Halton may face new virus rules Monday

Premier to make decision over weekend as cases surge throughout Ontario

Residents of Oakville and the rest of Halton Region will learn Monday if they’ll face new COVID-19 restrictions like a ban on indoor dining and shutdowns of gyms and theatres, says Premier Doug Ford.

“It’s concerning right now, we’re seeing the numbers go up again,” Ford said Friday as cases remained stubbornly high in several parts of the province two weeks after Toronto, Peel and Ottawa were pushed into the modified Stage 2 measures.

There were 826 new infections across Ontario, down 15 from the previous day but still the third highest since a record of 939 set Oct. 9 on the eve of the Thanksgiving weekend.

Deaths have increased significantly from just a month ago, with nine more fatalities reported Friday — the third day in a row at that level. There have been 49 deaths in the last week, up from 34 in the previous seven days.

“We’re going to have to discuss that over the weekend,” Ford said of the situation in Halton.

“We’re going to discuss all the different regions where we see an escalation in cases.”

Hamilton, where there has been a super-spreader outbreak at a spinning studio, and the public health unit serving the Eastern Ontario region have previously been warned they could face restrictions to stop the spread of the virus.

While Halton had 34 new cases Friday, an increase from 29 the previous day, health authorities look at other indicators such as hospital and intensive care unit occupancy levels, and the percentage of people testing positive in making their decisions on new restrictions.

There were 292 new cases in Toronto, 186 in Peel, 87 in Ottawa and 72 in York Region. York was moved into the modified Stage 2 restrictions on Monday. Durham had 38 cases Friday, up from 29 the previous day.

Hospitalizations continued to creep up across the province, rising by six patients to 276 with another four requiring intensive care for a total of 78, the highest since June 21. There were 47 ICU patients on ventilators to breathe.

One month ago there were just 88 patients in hospital for

COVID-19, with 24 in ICUs and nine relying on ventilators to breathe for them.

Officials have warned that the ability of hospitals to perform non-emergency surgeries starts being impaired once 150 COVID-19 patients are in ICUs across the province, and becomes extremely difficult at 350.

There were 72 new cases in schools reported Friday, with 514 or just over 10 per cent of schools across the province experiencing cases in students and staff.

Four schools were closed because of outbreaks.