Ontario ‘to stay the course’ with current COVID-19 restrictions despite spike in new cases, says Christine Elliott

Ontario will “stay the course” with its less restrictive COVID-19 measures despite a 41 percent increase in infections in the past 10 days, and will let local health units deal with outbreaks for now, says the Minister of Health Christine Elliott.

“We know that the numbers have increased a bit. We anticipated that would happen, ”Elliott told reporters Tuesday, as the seven-day average of new cases increased for the 10th day in a row and the province reported 441 more people tested positive for the virus.

“So what we’re seeing right now are largely regional outbreaks that we’re going to deal with at the regional level.”

He noted the Sudbury-area health unit, which will re-enforce stricter restrictions starting Wednesday. That includes re-imposing capacity limits in restaurants, bars and other venues, physical distancing, and stricter mask protocols at public events.

61 new cases were reported in the Sudbury region on Tuesday, compared with 55 in the much more populated Toronto health unit.

“We are implementing these protections as a ‘circuit breaker’ in an effort to disrupt chains of transmission within the community and protect local businesses and workers, we hope, avoiding any need for more drastic measures,” said Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, Sudbury and Districts Public Health Officer Physician.

The area has by far the highest rate of active cases in the province, with “generalized” transmission, particularly in the 18-39 age group. which has lower vaccination rates. That has led the health unit to ask people to work from home as much as possible and limit outings only to essential activities.

“Our current situation is alarming now, but it could get even worse with the winter months and more active inland activities ahead of us,” Sutcliffe added. “Nobody wants to hear this news, but we needed to turn back time and protect people and the health system.”

The increase in Sudbury comes despite a total vaccination rate of 87 percent, which is above the provincial average.

Elliott said his ministry and medical director, Dr. Kieran Moore, who will give his weekly update on Wednesday, are monitoring the situation across the province on a daily basis.

The spike in cases has occurred since October 31 and follows a relaxation of capacity restrictions in the province earlier this month as the fourth wave subsided. Now it appears to be resuming, and the government has said it will re-impose stricter public health measures across the province if the situation warrants.

“We know there will be increases in cases as the weather gets colder,” Elliott said, saying that further restrictions are “potentially possible,” but noted that the health system is “ready to deal with an increase in cases “because there is a great hospital capacity. it remains.

On Tuesday there were 244 COVID-19 patients in Ontario hospitals, including 134 in intensive care and 78 on ventilators. Three more deaths were reported, bringing the province’s pandemic death toll to 9,903.

“Even though we are seeing an increase in the number of cases, because many people are double vaccinated now, we still do not see a large number of people in our intensive care units,” Elliott said.

“We are not changing course at this time.”

Just over 85 percent of Ontario residents who meet the requirements of 12 years and older are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as the province awaits approval from Health Canada to begin vaccinations for children ages five to 12 years.

Moore previously warned of “a difficult fall and winter” with the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus that is most profoundly affecting the unvaccinated population, who are at increased risk of needing hospitalization.

Prime Minister Doug Ford outlined plans three weeks ago for Ontario to gradually end all pandemic restrictions by March, provided trends are good and a vaccine-resistant strain does not arrive.

The province has performed much better in terms of fighting COVID-19 compared to provinces like Alberta and nearby jurisdictions like Michigan.

With a population two-thirds the size of Ontario’s nearly 15 million residents, Michigan has reported nearly 3,000 new cases daily and a complete vaccination rate below 60 percent. Ontario’s seven-day average of new cases reported Tuesday was 492. Michigan also has more than double the death toll of Ontario.