Despite COVID-19 cases going up two days straight after a six-week low average, Ontario Premier Doug Ford says that “good news” is coming on Thursday for the province.
When addressing the media on May 12, Premier Ford stated that Ontario would be entering the first stage of the province’s three-phase reopening plan.
Ford says that the announcement on Thursday may include an announcement regarding the reopening of seasonal businesses, low-risk workplaces, and other essential workplaces.
The news also comes after Ontario has completed 11,957 of the 20,000 tests, nearly half of Ford’s stated target for daily COVID-19 tests. There is currently a backlog of 10,811 tests that are waiting to be processed.
When asked about the testing lag, Premier Ford stated that Ontario is currently leading the province in tests per capita and that Ontario is also one of the leaders in testing worldwide. He has acknowledged however that the target of 20,000 tests per day is still a priority.
Health Minister Christine Elliot has stated that another contributor to the lag in test results is the lack of transportation available to transport these tests to the labs over the weekend.
Questions regarding the size of social gatherings that are allowed were also asked during his address, as that coincided with the news that two of his daughters that don’t live in his house visited him for a Mother’s day family get-together.
Premier Ford addressed this question, saying more information regarding the size of gatherings allowed will be addressed on Thursday as well.
As of today, Ontario has reported 20,907 cases of COVID-19, with 15,391 recoveries and 1,725 deaths.
A recovery rate of approximately 74 per cent has been reported, as well as a reported 62 per cent of cases originating in the Greater Toronto Area.
Written by: Angelo Cruz
This content is also available in: Tiếng Việt
