Ford to make announcement with health minister amid Ontario's reopening

Premier Doug Ford will be making an announcement with Health Minister Christine Elliot on Friday as Ontario continues its Stage 2 of the province’s reopening.

On Wednesday, Ford said that most parts of Windsor-Essex, the last region left to open, can move into Stage 2 of reopening and offered a three-point plan to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission on farms through the community.

The Province of Ontario has confirmed 189 new cases as of Thursday morning.

These numbers are an increase from Wednesday’s 163, but a decrease from Tuesday’s 216.

The update hovers over Monday’s 161, which marked the lowest daily case count since March 28, when Ontario reported 151 cases.

On Thursday, Health Minister Christine Elliot said the update showed a 0.6% increase and that locally, 27 of Ontario’s 34 public health units were reporting five or fewer cases. Ten of those were reporting no new cases at all.

“We continue to see a persistent decline in the number of active cases,” Elliot said.

Their announcement is scheduled for 1 pm at Queen’s Park.