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By News Staff
Posted Jan 31, 2022, 5:10PM EST.
Last Updated Feb 1, 2022, 12:30PM EST.
Premier Doug Ford would not commit to no more lockdowns but he continued his recent tone of aiming for a return to pre-pandemic life.
“Our goal is to move forward in a very cautious way to make sure we don’t have lockdowns,” Ford said.
The premier was asked about the prospect of future lockdowns while unveiling a new long-term care home in Ajax on Tuesday. He said his government is working to ensure the healthcare system can handle any future surge of COVID-19 to avoid shutting things down again.
“We’re putting more money into the healthcare system,” Ford said. “Are we ready? Ya, we’re ready to move forward. But we have to do it cautiously.”
Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table released new modelling on Tuesday suggesting the worst of the current Omicron wave has passed but warning of a jump in hospitalizations in the coming months.
The province began loosening restrictions on Monday, the advisory table says the ease of restrictions will contribute to an increased spread and hospitalizations will rebound and continue at a prolonged peak through February and March.
The new long-term care home in Ajax is part of the Ford government’s $6.4 billion investment to build 30,000 net new long-term care beds by 2028.
In a written statement on Monday, Ford said that “All Ontarians are united in their desire to put this pandemic behind us and return to the life we knew before COVID-19.”
It followed a similar shift in tone on Friday, when the Premier told a local radio station in Peterborough, Ont., “We’ve got to learn to live with this and get things back to normal.”
Ford’s recent comments are in line with Ontario’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore, who last Thursday said it’s time to “learn to live with COVID-19.”
Ontario’s top doctor credited COVID-19 vaccines and new antiviral medications as primary reasons why the province needs to shift its way of thinking.
Lockdowns, however, are ultimately a political decision, though Ford appears to have found some unlikely support across the aisle with his evolution in messaging as it relates to COVID-19 and the pandemic.
Opposition parties have struck a similar tone to Ford in recent days regarding lockdowns.
“I didn’t want the last lockdown. I haven’t wanted any lockdown,” said Liberal leader Steven Del Duca on Monday.
“People are experiencing lockdown fatigue, and the frustration is real,” said the NDP’s Catherine Fife.Survey finds majority of Canadians are in favour of easing COVID restrictionsSharePlay Video
Ontario restaurants, gyms and theatres welcomed patrons as restrictions from the latest pandemic shutdown eased on Monday, with customers happy to return and businesses anxious but hopeful about recouping losses.
The reopening marked the first step in Ontario’s plan to gradually roll back public health measures imposed in early January amid soaring cases of the highly infectious Omicron variant.
“Today, Ontario is beginning to ease some public health measures, the first step in returning to normal,” Ford said on Monday. “All Ontarians are united in their desire to put this pandemic behind us and return to the life we knew before COVID-19.”
There are differing opinions on what the Ford government should do moving forward to prevent further restrictions.
The NDP is calling on the provincial government to expand access to PCR testing, and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner says government officials need to expand the number of sick days available and mandate N95 masks in vulnerable workplaces.
Education minister Stephen Lecce said on Monday he believes a deal on paid sick days is “within reach,” aligning with the federal childcare plan.
“If the Premier wants to ‘live with the virus,’ then the Premier needs to take the steps necessary to mitigate the spread of the virus,” Schreiner said.
Del Duca reiterated his call for the government to expand the vaccine pass program to include third doses.
While hospitalizations have slowed, the growing calls to learn to live with COVID-19 come during one of the pandemic’s deadliest months in Ontario. More than 1,200 people lost their lives to the virus in January.
With files from The Canadian Press
Article From: Citynews
