The medical officer of health for Peel Region says area municipalities should move into Stage 3 "sooner rather than later" despite the fact that the rate of case decline has started to slow in recent days.
According to the province's latest disclosure, Peel Region added 25 new cases of COVID-19 to its database over the past 24 hours, just three fewer than reported in Toronto, a region which is more than twice the size.
Speaking at a news conference in Brampton on Wednesday morning, Dr. Lawrence Loh, the medical officer of health for Peel Region, said he believes Peel is ready to advance to the next stage of the province's reopening plan.
"Certainly while our new daily cases actually continue to decline on a seven-day moving average, the rate of decline has started to slow over the past week. However, I am very reassured that many of our new cases, almost 90 per cent, are linked to known clusters," Loh said.
"Our capacity to respond remains optimal. For those reasons, I support Peel Region moving into Stage 3 sooner rather than later."
He noted "prolonged, continued closures" present ongoing impacts to the overall health of the community, particularly on employment and businesses.
"As we move toward Stage 3, we must learn to live with COVID-19," Loh said. "We must unlock our community safely while keeping our cases down."
The vast majority of new cases involve people under the age of 50, Loh said, further illustrating the need for more precautions in bars and restaurants, which are permitted to offer indoor dining as part of Stage 3.
Bars are a 'recipe for the virus to re-emerge'
Public health officials have indicated that the risk of transmission is notably higher in indoor spaces.
The Ontario Medical Association has warned that allowing indoor service at bars could result in a spike in cases of the novel coronavirus, a consequence that has been seen in other jurisdictions.
Mayor John Tory previously urged the province to put stricter conditions in place at bars, including pushing up last call to midnight instead of 2 a.m.
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown says he too has written to the premier, asking that additional health measures be implemented for bars under Stage 3, including mandatory employee screening, stricter capacity limits, and earlier closing times.
"If we've seen what's happened elsewhere, bars in particular are a recipe for the virus to re-emerge and to weaken our efforts to combat COVID-19," Brown said during Wednesday's news conference.
"The intent of these recommendations is to protect the health and safety of the public. And we don't want to have to see businesses close again if we are too lackadaisical on some of these public health measures. We can see what's happened in the U.S."
