Province reviewing public health measures as Ontario's COVID-19 hospitalizations drop below 2,000
With public health indicators showing improvement in Ontario, provincial officials are now reviewing timelines for easing restrictions meant to curb the spread of COVID-19, the province's top doctor says.
At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said he is "pleased to report" that public health indicators in the province are showing an improvement.
"We can now see that the Omicron peak is behind us," Moore said. "We're in a very good position to reconsider timelines."
Moore said the province is examining when additional public health measures, including masking and proof-of-vaccination policies, might be eased.
He said these talks are "ongoing" and the province will have more to say in the coming days.
"We will be reviewing the evidence … and the evidence is showing we're making remarkable improvement in all the key metrics in Ontario," Moore said.
Ontario reported 1,897 hospitalizations of people with COVID-19 Thursday, marking the first time that number has dipped below 2,000 since early January, when the Omicron wave ramped up.
Health Minister Christine Elliott said on Twitter Thursday that 56 per cent of those people were admitted to the hospital specifically for COVID-19 treatment, and 44 per cent were admitted for other reasons but have tested positive for the virus.
Moore said dates for further lifting restrictions on businesses and social gatherings — set to happen in stages on Feb. 21 and March. 14 — could be reviewed next week
Moore's comments came a day after Elliott said the province wasn't considering lifting mask rules or its vaccine passport system affecting businesses, as some other Canadian provinces have begun to do.
The health minister didn't say when those policies would end, but said the province expects mask rules will remain in place for "some time."
Moore said any changes to the province's reopening timelines would continue to follow a "gradual, phased approach."
Also Thursday, Ontario's expert science advisers said rapid antigen tests don't detect COVID-19 infections with the Omicron variant as reliably as they did with the Delta strain, but changing the way the tests are performed can boost their sensitivity.
Think FORD is slowly getting the message. Mandates need to be removed sooner rather than later otherwise he will need to pack his bags.
Elliot needs to stop drinking the purple juice Ford keeps making. She needs to start sipping what Dr. Moore is having. He at least see's that the mandates can and should be removed faster than the current pace. Think they are suffering from the hangover when Dr. Williams was calling the shots
