Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced on Tuesday the province was entering a second state of emergency as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, effective immediately, and expected to remain in place for at least 28 days. Ford also announced a stay-at-home order effective Thursday at 12:01 a.m. ET, meaning people can only leave their homes for groceries and medical appointments. He also said schools in Windsor-Essex, Peel, Toronto, York and Hamilton will remain closed for in-person learning until Feb. 10.
Ford says Ontario will consider tougher lockdown measures as 3,266 new COVID-19 cases reported
Premier Doug Ford says the province will decide in the coming days whether or not more stringent lockdown measures, including possibly keeping schools closed, are needed to curb the surge of COVID-19 cases in Ontario.
Hospitalization figures continue to reach new pandemic highs in Ontario. There are now 1,463 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the province’s hospitals. Of those, 361 are being treated in intensive care and 246 require a ventilator.
In the weeks since Ford last took questions, there have been more than 40,000 new COVID-19 cases in the province, while the number of people hospitalized has risen sharply and 579 more people have died. Two hospitals, one in London and another in Windsor, said this week they are using mobile freezer trailers to temporarily store bodies after their morgues reached capacity from influxes of patients who died with COVID-19.
Ford was asked Wednesday if the province is doing enough to fight the virus, and if tighter measures should be enacted, much like what is being reportedly considered for Quebec. The Quebec government is set to unveil details Wednesday of more strict lockdown measures it will put in place.
“We’re doing everything we can, we’re throwing everything at it,” Ford said. “We’ll be making that decision over the next few days,” Ford said.