{"id":79479,"date":"2021-05-13T15:06:13","date_gmt":"2021-05-13T19:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/?p=79479"},"modified":"2021-05-13T15:14:30","modified_gmt":"2021-05-13T19:14:30","slug":"ontario-to-keep-stay-at-home-order-until-at-least-june-2-ford-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/local\/gta\/ontario-to-keep-stay-at-home-order-until-at-least-june-2-ford-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Ontario to keep stay-at-home order until ‘at least’ June 2, Ford says"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ontario
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Thursday that the province’s stay-at-home order will be extended. (Chris Young\/The Canadian Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ontario’s\u00a0stay-at-home will remain in place until “at least” June 2, Premier Doug Ford announced Thursday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Toronto officials urge province to extend lockdown but reopen outdoor facilities<\/a><\/p>\n

Ford said the province should\u00a0be able to lift restrictions on outdoor recreation by that date, with more details on reopening plans to follow in the days and weeks after that.<\/p>\n

<\/section>\n

“The situation is slowly trending in the right situation. Make no mistake, we’re not out of the woods yet,” Ford said, adding that his goal is for Ontario to have “the most normal July and August as possible.”<\/p>\n

Today’s news\u00a0conference marks the\u00a0first time Ford has taken questions from reporters in more than a week.<\/p>\n

It comes as Ontario reported another 2,759 cases of COVID-19 and 31 more deaths linked to the illness this morning. While it’s the most new infections in four days, it is still well below last Thursday’s count of 3,424. It is most useful to compare the same days of the week because of the cyclical nature of testing in Ontario.<\/p>\n

Labs completed 47,638 tests and Public Health Ontario logged a provincewide positivity rate of 5.7 per cent, the lowest in almost six weeks. Test positivity has, on average, been trending downward for several weeks.<\/p>\n

Dr. David Williams, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said that the province’s numbers are now about where they were at the peak of the second wave.<\/p>\n

“They’ve come down, but we have a ways to go yet,” he said.<\/p>\n

Officials do not provide specific metrics<\/h2>\n

Provincial officials were asked what specific metrics they want to see by June 2 to begin easing public health measures. Neither Ford, Williams, or\u00a0Health Minister Christine Elliott directly answered the question.<\/p>\n

Williams would only say\u00a0the province needs to be “well under” 1,000 cases per day for a “number of days.”<\/p>\n

Officials also did not answer when asked if the province would return to its previous colour-coded framework.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Ontario Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Rocco Rossi said\u00a0the chamber wants to see “evidence-based metrics for reopening,” with thresholds for case counts, health-care system capacity, and evidence of virus spread.<\/p>\n

“We fully appreciate the need to be nimble and agile in responding to a crisis that is evolving rapidly; however, this flexibility should not preclude the government from providing Ontarians with a clear understanding about the key metrics and thresholds for a measured, safe, and carefully calibrated reopening plan,” Rossi said in a news release.<\/p>\n

The new cases in today’s update\u00a0include 774 in Toronto, 602 in Peel Region, 258 in York Region, 147 in Durham Region, 133 in Hamilton and 110 in Ottawa.<\/p>\n

The seven-day average of daily cases fell to 2,731, its lowest point in about five weeks.<\/p>\n

The additional deaths push the official toll to 8,405. The seven-day average of deaths rose slightly to 27.4 per day.<\/p>\n

Public health units collectively administered 137,697 more doses of COVID-19 vaccines yesterday. Roughly 52 per cent of Ontarians aged 18 and older have now had a first shot.<\/p>\n

Ford did not shed any light about what the province plans to do with in-person learning for students. The premier said some doctors are telling him schools should reopen, but teachers unions are saying that cant happen right now. Ford did not say who any of those doctors are.<\/p>\n

The premier said he wants to see a consensus reached.<\/p>\n

“I just need the labour leaders to sit down with the docs and come up with a solution,’ he said.<\/p>\n

Ford still asking for more border restrictions<\/h2>\n

Meanwhile, last night Ford released another letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau requesting enhanced COVID-19 measures at Canada’s borders, including:<\/p>\n