KAWARTHA LAKES-The Ontario Government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, is transitioning a number of Health Unit districts into different levels of measures meant to control the spread of Coronavirus.
Toronto, Peel and North Bay Parry Sound District public health regions out of the shutdown and into the revised and strengthened COVID-19 Response Framework: Keeping Ontario Safe and Open (the “Framework”), with the Stay-at-Home order no longer in effect. In addition, seven other public health regions are being moved to new levels in the Framework.
“Our government is taking a safe and cautious approach to returning to the Framework and due to our progress, all regions of the province will soon be out of the provincewide shutdown,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “Despite this positive step forward, a return to the Framework is not a return to normal. As we continue vaccinating more Ontarians, it remains critical for everyone to continue to follow public health measures and stay home as much as possible to protect themselves, their loved ones and their communities.”
Based on a general improvement in trends of key indicators, North Bay Parry Sound District will be returning to the Framework at the Red-Control level. Toronto Public Health and Peel Public Health are also making progress, but as their case rates still remain high, they will return to the Framework at the Grey-Lockdown level.
In addition, based on the latest data, the following seven public health regions will also be moving to the following levels in the Framework:
Red-Control
- Peterborough Public Health;
- Public Health Sudbury and Districts; and
- Simcoe-Muskoka District Health Unit.
Orange-Restrict
- Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit; and
- Timiskaming Health Unit.
Yellow-Protect
- Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit; and
- Renfrew County and District Health Unit.
All changes will be effective Monday, March 8, 2021 at 12:01 a.m. Please visit Ontario.ca/covidresponse
Under the Yellow level, most businesses and services can continue operating with COVID-19 restrictions in place. However, there are some easing of controls under Yellow, including for restaurants: the lifting of the 50-person capacity limit, the ability to stay open longer (to midnight) for in-person dining, and a limit of six people (up from four) being able to sit at the same table. Another change is that personal care services requiring the removal of face coverings can now resume. Full details about the new COVID-19 control measures under the Yellow category are available at www.hkpr.on.ca.
“We’ve had a significant decrease in COVID-19 cases over the last two-week period, so that’s great news to be rewarded with a move to ‘Yellow’ because things are looking better,” says Dr. Ian Gemmill, Acting local Medical Officer of Health with the HKPRDHU. “That said, I want to urge people not to let their guard down and continue taking COVID-19 precautions because the situation could quickly change.”
According to Dr. Gemmill, 98 per cent of the population is still not protected from COVID-19 since they have not yet had the disease nor been immunized against it. “We still have a lot of susceptible people out there, so it’s essential to continue taking precautions so that there is not another resurgence of infection,” he says.
Based on the latest modelling data, the efforts of Ontarians in following public health measures and advice are working to decrease the number of new cases, deaths and hospitalizations across the province according to officials. However, officials say with COVID-19 variants of concern continuing to spread, the actions of everyone over the coming weeks will be critical to maintaining the progress communities have made across the province to date.
“While all regions have returned to the Framework, everyone must remain vigilant to help prevent any further increases in transmission,” said Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health. “The best defense against the virus and all of its variants of concern remains continuing to stay at home, avoiding social gatherings, only travelling outside of your community for essential purposes, and limiting close contacts to your household or those you live with.”
The Chief Medical Officer of Health will continue to consult with public health and other experts, review data, and provide advice to the government on the next steps.
