Premier Doug Ford alludes to easing restrictions in radio interview

Ontario Premier Doug Ford told Newstalk 580 CFRA that Ontarians can look forward to some “positive news” on restrictions this week.

In the radio interview on Tuesday, he indicated that COVID-19 restrictions would be changed and that an announcement would come later this week.

“I believe we’re going to make some announcements later this week about going back to other levels of restrictions,” he told Newstalk 580 CFRA.

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Ontario is currently in a modified Step 2 of reopening. This means that indoor dining, gyms, movie theatres, sporting events, and more are closed to the public. The restrictions were introduced on January 5 and are set to expire on January 26.

At his weekly COVID-19 briefing last week, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kieran Moore, told reporters that he couldn’t guarantee that restrictions would lift by next week.

He also said that any reopening plans would be “staged and phased,” similar to previous waves. It is not clear which restrictions Ford plans to lift or ease.

The province continues to set record numbers of hospitalizations, with Tuesday setting a new record of 4,183 COVID-19 hospitalizations. Similarly, ICU admissions are reaching all-time highs, with 580 patients currently admitted. It is not clear what indicators the province is using to plan to reopen.

Daily Hive reached out to the Ministry of Health to confirm when the announcement would be taking place but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Dr. Moore holds weekly COVID-19 briefings on Thursdays at 3 pm; it is unclear if this will be rescheduled or if the announcement will be made on Thursday.