Peel’s top public health doctor says he does not believe cases will continue to remain flat in the region as the colder weather arrives and added that he welcomes the province’s willingness to adjust reopening plans based on “evolving” conditions.
On Wednesday, the province announced that it would pause its plan to lift all remaining capacity restrictions in certain high-risk settings, including strip clubs and food and beverage venues with dance facilities.
The move, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health said, was out of an abundance of caution as the province’s daily COVID-19 case counts continue to rise.
“I think certainly the pause is welcome and especially for us in the region of Peel, even though we haven't necessarily seen the trend that other places in Ontario have already, we are anticipating that we will see it, especially as more people gather indoors,” Dr. Lawrence Loh, Peel’s medical officer of health, told CP24 on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the province reported just 33 new infections in Peel, a lower case count than the one reported in the much smaller region of Simcoe-Muskoka, which saw 38 new cases yesterday.
Loh said he hopes the province continues to remain open to the possibility of making more adjustments if needed.
“I'm hoping that if things continue to worsen, that perhaps they will continue to look at all the other measures to make sure they are doing what is needed to keep Peel residents as well as all of us in Ontario safe,” he said.
“The reality is that thanks to so many in our community coming out, getting vaccinated, we have really reduced the risk of infection, we have also significantly diminished the risk of severe and mortal outcomes in our community, but we do know that in the winter, people do spend more time indoors, people spend more time in close contact.”
He added that while there has not been a rise in new cases in Peel Region compared to other jurisdictions, there continue to be problems in some sectors.
“One of our biggest challenges continues to be weddings, event venues, and banquet halls... Many of the operators are in compliance but we have had a number of operators that have chosen to ignore the restrictions,” he noted.
“We continue to work with our bylaw enforcement, our police partners in enforcing the precautions that are in place. The places where we have seen outbreaks in the region of Peel have been situations where the people have been non-compliant with masking, certification, and other precautions.”
He said compliance will be especially important in the coming months.
“As we head into the holiday gathering season, if we want to keep our kids in school, give us a chance to vaccinate our 5-11s, and preserve our progress, they (businesses) are going to need to stick to the precautions at least for a while longer because we are not quite out of the woods yet,” Loh said.
