While it is encouraging that cases in Toronto and the province are declining, Toronto’s top public health official said residents need to remain vigilant and keep following public health measures.

“And this is especially important, knowing what we know about the variants of concern, their presence here in Toronto and in the province writ large and the fact that they are believed to be more transmissible than the COVID-19 variant that was previously circulating here,” said Dr. Eileen de Villa, the city’s medical officer of health.

Ontario reported 1,563 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday while test positivity fell to its lowest point since late October.

The doctor joined CP24 on Thursday to answers questions about school reopenings, COVID-19 variants, vaccines, and March Break.

CP24: Can future decisions on school closures be targeted and made with available Toronto neighbourhood COVID-19 case data and school-specific COVID-19 case situations in mind? With our common goal of keeping as many children in in-person learning as the available data supports it, a blanket approach for Toronto could be avoided.

De Villa: I think this is exactly what we have been trying to do throughout the entire course of the pandemic. There isn't really a one size fits all solution. I do think that when we look at situations and what we had done over the course, certainly during the fall when schools were opened, we looked at each school community on its own merits and its own situations. You really have to look at the circumstances within the school and in the immediate community surrounding it to make the best decisions.

CP24: So, this is basically happening already?

De Vila: Yes, and that's a good thing. But of course, our knowledge changes. You've just talked about how it's constantly changing in the course of the pandemic. And when it comes to COVID, each day does bring something new. As of late, what we have now are variants of concern, and we need to understand how this might change our approach on a go forward basis. And how it affects our schools and adjust our approaches and target our approaches with these kinds of things in mind.

CP24: A dog groomer asks if you can clarify the rules after the provincial government gave them the green light to reopen on Thursday. Did you advise the province on the reopening of pet grooming businesses?

De Villa: When it comes to the provincial regulations, they certainly seek advice from all parties, including local medical officers of health. However, when it comes to the interpretation of their regulations, this is something that one I would refer people to the province to do, or in the alternative, if one does have access to legal counsel, certainly having their thoughts on it as well would be very helpful. These are pieces of legislation that we're speaking of. And so, it should be interpreted by people who have expertise in that arena. But for now, my expectation is that our provincial counterparts are really the best source of information and the best source of clarification.

READ MORE: Ford government allows pet groomers to reopen amid provincial COVID-19 emergency

CP24: Toronto Public Health has been migrating data to the provincial system, which has resulted in some numbers being under-reported. What's the issue, and when will it be rectified? Yesterday, Dr. Williams referenced Toronto's numbers as a reason why he's encouraged about reopening schools. But if the numbers are under-reported, should those numbers be relied on a lot of questions there?

De Villa: First, let's talk about what was actually happening. We had a case and contact information management system that we'd been using since the spring. And we have just this week transferred to the provincial system that was developed in the summer. All the other public health units had migrated to that system over the course of time. We were the last ones. And we had a significant number of records that needed to be moved. For us, it was more than 80,000 records that needed to be moved from our system into this system. And if any of the viewing audience has actually done a technology change like this, you know how significant that is, especially when we're talking about numbers in that range. So, in the process of moving things over, sometimes cases get dropped. And that's why we're spending this week making sure that the data are all appropriately reflected in the new system.

However, that doesn't mean that things are underreported in terms of what's happening for Toronto. What it means is that we're doing data quality work. And I think that as we look at our data over the course of the past few weeks, we have been seeing a decrease in case rates and in case counts in Toronto, as has been the case in many other parts of the province as well.

CP24: Do you have Toronto contact tracing summary for the last three or six weeks? That is to indicate how many got the virus due to travel to the private get-togethers etc.? If you have, can you publish them on your Toronto Health website?

De Villa: We do maintain those records. Of course, right now, we're not reporting in quite the same way that we normally record at Toronto Public Health because of the data migration and that data transfer from one system to the next that we just spoke about. So, unfortunately, we don't have quite as fulsome reporting this week. But the anticipation is that next week we will be back up to regular reporting. And on our website, it does include the sources of infection and inflammation around risk factors for infection.

CP24: After two months of lockdown and over 1 million people being vaccinated, why do we still have a high number of cases? Where are these cases coming from?

De Villa: What we know about is when it comes to COVID-19, this virus spreads from person to person. As long as there is somebody who actually has a COVID-19 infection, the minute they come into close contact with other people, they create that opportunity for the virus to spread from one person to the next. And given that we have the presence of variants of concern, which we know are particularly more transmissible than the forms of the virus that we had previously circulating, all it takes is that opportunity for close contact. There you have the opportunity for virus spread. That's why you've heard me say over and over again that really what we need to do is maintain distance, distance and distance. The more we put that physical distance between ourselves and others that we don't live with, the better off we are in terms of reducing the spread of COVID-19 and getting back to life more like what we knew before COVID-19 was with us.

CP24: Education Minister Stephen Lecce said that an announcement would be coming next week regarding March Break. Do you believe that March Break should be cancelled to ensure the health and safety of the kids and their families?

De Villa: I think it's an interesting question and only a component of it is really around public health. A lot of it is around a number of other circumstances or issues that are also relevant but perhaps outside of my area of expertise. First and foremost, kids had a little bit of a longer break. They had part of their learning online, which clearly isn't the same as in-person learning. And we're certainly pleased to see in person learning resume because we know that it has these significant benefits for children. I think from a public health perspective, though, of course, what we're trying to tell people at this point is that we still want to maintain that distance that we need to continue to control the spread of COVID-19. Travelling to other jurisdictions, or travelling, which is going away on March Break, isn't really supportive of trying to maintain better control on the spread of COVID-19 in our community. I think there are a number of different considerations that are important in this decision and that aren't exclusively around public health. From a public health perspective, the more we can stay at home and keep those outings to those essential things, the more we will be able to control COVID-19 and the sooner we will be able to get back to life more likely knew it before.

It's not so much the issue of the break, it's more about what the break signifies and what it might do in terms of virus spread and virus control. That I think is fundamentally the issue from a public health perspective. And I'll leave it to the educators to determine what best makes sense from an educational perspective for our children.

READ MORE: Ontario government is considering whether to cancel March Break in bid to limit spread of COVID-19

CP24: Why are those living in COVID-19 hotspots not vaccinated first?

De Villa: I think to the credit of our provincial counterparts, they did provide vaccine preferentially to the areas in the province where case rates were the highest when a vaccine became available. Of course, we know right now, there are some vaccine supply challenges, and this is one of the things hindering obviously, the efforts to get that coverage up. But I'm hopeful that those supply issues will be resolved soon. And once we've got the vaccine, I can tell you that here in Toronto and many other jurisdictions all around the province, public health people are absolutely keen to get the vaccine out and to get coverage up all across the province so we can start to protect ourselves better.

CP24: A viewer asks, I'm a hairstylist, and I was wondering why is it okay for people to get massages and not get the haircuts as long as there's social distancing, you have the plexiglass, you have your mask, and you have a shield on? Why can't we go back to work when a massage therapist can?

De Villa: That's an excellent question. I would suggest it's one that I would pose to our provincial counterparts as the current regulations are being done under their legislation and under their purview. There's no question, though, that this has been an incredibly challenging pandemic, in so many ways, because of the businesses that have had to be closed and the many services that I think that we've missed. That's why it is really important as we start to see cases decline that we continue the efforts that we know have brought about those declines. We are seeing that people are staying home more, that they're reducing their mobility and interacting with each other less. And this is what manifests itself as fewer cases and lower case rates in our community. I would just encourage people to the greatest extent possible, continue those self-protection measures is especially important, as our children are just getting back to school and starting in-person learning again soon.

CP24: Do you have any updates regarding the vaccine as it applies to people under 18?

De Villa: I understand that there are a number of different studies that are ongoing. One of our vaccines can be used in people as young as 16. But my sense is that the vaccine manufacturers are actually continuing to do their studies and to understand more and more about the conditions within which vaccines can be used safely. As well, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization has actually indicated that when there are particular circumstances where the risks COVID-19 make it worth it, there are certain circumstances where the vaccine can be provided to people under the ages of 18 and as young as 12.

CP24: The province hinted that they might start looking into easing restrictions. Any advice? Any thoughts going forward knowing now we have the new variants in the province?

De Villa: I think what we need to do is really look at what we've learned over the course of the pandemic and what we've seen in other jurisdictions. And what we have learned is that when it comes to controlling COVID-19 spread, what we really need to do is get our numbers down in our case rates down as much as we can, and in order to keep them there to open up very carefully, and ideally, as slowly as possible in order to make sure that you can build on the success of one step after another. This is especially important in an environment where we have these new variants of concern, which are believed to be and are understood to be more transmissible. All the more reason to be particularly cautious around reopening. That being said, I think it's important that conversation and planning start early so that it can be done very thoughtfully and as safely as possible.

READ MORE: Ford hints at announcement next week on eventual reopening of the economy

CP24: The Super Bowl is this weekend. What is your advice to residents who might gather to watch the event?

De Villa: I think the one caveat I would put to that is that if you want to have a virtual Super Bowl party, you go to town. I think that's a great way to try to celebrate Super Bowl. But yes, we would ask that people stick to their households. Enjoy the snacks and the fun of the Super Bowl but not with other people unless you're doing it virtually.

CP24: Are you worried that with schools reopening next week, it might send a message to people that they can get out of their houses?

De Villa: What I've tried to say to people is, look, let's help our kids get back to school and keep that learning environment safe by continuing to do our self-protection measures and keeping our community safe.

This interview has been edited.