Health officials to release new COVID-19 modelling as Ontario considers clampdown in regional hot spots
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Public health officials are set to release new projections on COVID-19 infections and deaths as Ontario considers new restrictions to slow the rate of transmission.
Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam and her deputy Howard Njoo will hold a news conference at noon ET and CBCNews.ca will carry it live.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, Health Minister Patty Hajdu, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc will join the news conference to make announcements related to the government’s COVID-19 response, including supports for business.
WATCH / Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam provides new COVID-19 modelling
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a handful of ministers and public health officials make an announcement as COVID-19 cases spike in parts of the country. 0:00
Last month, Tam presented modelling that showed the epidemic was accelerating nationally. At the time, she warned that if Canadians did not step up preventative measures, the virus could spread out of control and trigger a wave of infections bigger than the first one.
Her projections suggested cases could climb to more than 5,000 daily by October.
That worse-case scenario hasn’t happened yet — but Ontario reported 939 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, the province’s highest-ever daily number of new cases. There has also been a spike in new COVID-19 ICU hospital admissions.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is holding an emergency cabinet meeting today to consider tighter measures to reverse the trend — measures that could include shutting down gyms, cinemas and indoor food and drink service in restaurants, bars, nightclubs and food courts.
The provincial government is not currently considering closing schools, child care centres, colleges, universities or courtrooms.
Quebec also plans to impose stricter measures after the province reported 1,102 new cases of COVID-19 and 22 more deaths on Friday.
The number of so-called “red zones” in Quebec with a high number of cases is growing, forcing the closure of restaurants, bars, theatres and some other businesses.
In British Columbia, the number of cases has now surpassed 10,000, but the province’s chief public health officer Bonnie Henry said the curve is beginning to flatten again as testing ramps up significantly.
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