Ontario is introducing a number of stricter public health measures — some provincewide and some more targeted to current hot spots such as Toronto, Ottawa and Peel — as the province reported a record-high number of new COVID-19 cases on Friday.
The provincial government is also making significant changes to the process of getting a COVID-19 test, which as of Oct. 6 will be done by appointment only. Assessment centres will stop offering walk-in tests of Oct. 4 in an effort to allow Ontario’s network of labs to work through a backlog of tests that ballooned to more than 90,500 today.
As part of today’s changes, Ontario is also putting the concept of social circles on pause and advising people to limit close contact only to people living in their own household and maintain two metres distance from everyone else. People who live alone may consider having close contact with another household.
“Just keep your circles tight,” Premier Doug Ford said at an afternoon news conference, during which multiple reporters expressed confusion about the details of the province’s updated advice.
For example. Ford and his top health officials struggled to answer when asked if someone should visit their parent who lives in a different house on Thanksgiving later this month.
Meanwhile, masks will now be required in all work places where physical distancing of two metres or more is not possible, as well as on all public transit and in shopping centres provincewide.
Any additional business reopenings in Ontario will be put on hold for at least 28 more days, Ford said.
CBC News previously reported on a proposal before Ford’s cabinet that would have designated Toronto, Ottawa and Peel as “red zones.” Ford confirmed he had been looking at that proposal but that he decided against doing so after speaking with Quebec Premier François Legault, who said the system, which is in place there, was not effective.
“I was talking to Premier Legault and he told me it was very very confusing to the public. You’re constantly changing the colours … Ottawa, Toronto and Peel, they’re the hot spots,” Ford said.
But Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, repeatedly called the three areas “hot zones” during Friday’s news conference.
Instead, in these three regions, the province has opted to:
Limit capacity in bars, restaurants and nightclubs to ensure physical distancing up to a maximum of 100 people. There can only be six people at a single table. All customers must provide information for contact tracing.
Limit the size of exercise classes to 10 people and allow a maximum of 50 people into gyms and other fitness settings.
Limit on the number of people allowed at meeting and event facilities, including banquet halls, to six people per table and 50 people per facility.
WATCH | Ontario Premier Doug Ford introduces further restrictions across Ontario:
Though focused primarily on Ottawa, Toronto and Peel Region, Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled new public health measures for the province to stop the spread of the coronavirus. 3:57
Criticism from local health officials
The province’s updated guidelines were not well received by Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s medical officer of health. The city saw 323 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday.
In a letter to the government, De Villa said it must introduce stricter measures to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus in the city.
They include:
Prohibiting indoor dining.
Asking people to only leave their homes for essential trips.
Prohibiting all indoor fitness classes and indoor sports team activities.
Requiring large venues to submit a plan to Toronto Public health outlining how they will comply with public health regulations.
“These are tough recommendations, but I believe they are necessary in order to protect seniors in our long-term care homes and students in our schools,” said Toronto Mayor John Tory in a statement.
Test backlog grows
Ontario reported 732 additional cases of COVID-19 today.
Toronto saw the most, though Health Minister Christine Elliott noted that some cases confirmed in the spring were included in today’s number due to a data review by Toronto Public Health.
Ottawa recorded 141 more cases and Peel 111.
Other public health units that saw double-digit increases include:
York Region: 38
Durham Region: 34
Simcoe Muskoka: 13
Halton Region: 11
Niagara Region: 11
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph: 10
About 58 per cent of the newly confirmed infections are in people under 40 years old, Elliott noted, including 30 in students.
The previous record of 700 new cases came just five days ago on September 28.
The province’s official COVID-19 death toll took a considerable jump, increasing by 76 to 2,927. However 74 of those deaths were “reported for cases that occurred in the spring or summer and are now being recorded as part of a data review and data cleaning initiative,” the Ministry of Health said.
Ontario’s network of labs processed 40,093 test samples for the novel coronavirus yesterday, while the backlog of tests waiting to be completed grew to 90,513 — by far the most since the outbreak in late January.
The province says it hopes to build capacity for up to 50,000 tests daily by mid-October and 68,000 per day by mid-November.
The number of patients in Ontario hospitals with confirmed cases of COVID-19 continued its slow but steady climb, increasing by seven up to 167. Thirty-eight of those people are being treated in intensive care units, and 21 are on ventilators.
The number of confirmed outbreaks in long-term care homes is now at 44.
RNAO calls for tighter restrictions
The Registered Nurses Association (RNAO) called on the provincial government Friday to immediately impose stricter public health measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
“Urgent action is needed to prevent a full lockdown later on. This is something we have implored government officials to do, but their actions are timid and ineffective,” said RNAO CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun in a statement posted online.
Grinspun adding that “the numbers will get much higher unless immediate action is taken to stem the rising tide.”
The letter urges the closure of bars, indoor dining, places of worship and gyms across the province.
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EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
