Ford and Health Minister to address ongoing COVID-19 pandemic this afternoon

Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister, Christine Elliott, will make a daily address on the province’s ongoing efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

They will be joined by Peter Bethlenfalvy, President of the Treasury Board, to make their Thursday announcement.

On Wednesday, Ford said Ontario will hire 600 more contact tracers to help isolate COVID-19 cases, after Toronto temporarily suspends tracing.

The Ontario government said they have already hired 100 new contact tracers, many of whom are starting work this week, with up to 500 more recruits expected to be hired by mid-November.

The need for an amped up response comes as cases have been high recently with Wednesday’s 721, Tuesday’s 746, Monday’s 807, Sunday’s 649, Saturday’s 809, and Friday’s 939 — the highest count to date in the pandemic.

The press briefing will be at 1 pm at Queen’s Park.