‘Too early’ to tell when restrictions will ease

Less than 20 days from Christmas and two weeks into a lockdown, Toronto’s top doctor was not certain about the current measures being lifted even after the holidays.

Dr. Eileen de Villa continued to implore residents to stay apart through December and New Year’s and not gather for dinners, parties and other celebrations — apart from those that already live together, and for those that live alone, one exclusive household.

“In our own lives, risky inhome festivities will easily make things worse and already I’m as worried now by what may happen in January as I am about the rest of this month,” de Villa told reporters Monday at a regular briefing.

But when asked directly if the lockdown, which began Nov. 23, will continue beyond December, de Villa said it is “too early to make pronouncements around how long our restrictions should be in place.”

In terms of what the measures have achieved so far, de Villa pointed out it’s always difficult to say what the numbers might have been had those actions not been taken.

She said when she looks beyond the day over day increase, there is some signs of progress, such as keeping active outbreaks at a “reasonable level” and holding the line on cases at hospitals, long-term care and elsewhere.

Repeating something she has often said as lockdown measures have come and gone, de Villa said that what happens next is up to Torontonians and their commitment to staying home and not interacting with those outside their household.