The province has extended emergency orders to July 10 and eased restrictions on indoor sports and recreational fitness facilities.
While many orders put in place under the state of emergency legislation have been lifted as part of Ontario’s phased reopening plan, Doug Ford’s government said on Saturday that orders governing the deployment of frontline health-care and public health staff are essential in the continuing response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The emergency orders fall under the state of emergency legislation, which was first declared on March 17 and is set to expire on July 15. Ford has said he hopes the legislation will not need to be renewed beyond that date. However, existing emergency orders – namely the ban on large gatherings – are expected to continue.
“While we have made truly incredible progress in our fight against COVID-19, thanks to the collective efforts of our frontline heroes and the people of Ontario, we know that we must remain vigilant,” Ford said in a statement. “These emergency orders will allow us to take action, if necessary, to ensure our continued success as we reopen our province and get more people back to work.”
Meanwhile, Ontario has lifted some restrictions on indoor sports and recreational fitness facilities to allow for the training of amateur or professional athletes and certain non-contact amateur or professional athletic competitions.
In a statement, the government said that all “facility owners would only be able to permit activities to occur in a way that meets public health requirements. These changes will also enable many sports and recreational organizations around the province to again offer sport training programming, helping more people return to sport in Ontario.”
Ontario reports 160 new COVID-19 cases
On Saturday, Ontario reported a single-day increase of 160 new COVID-19 cases and 178 more resolved cases. Today’s increase is up from yesterday’s three-month low of 111.
“Yesterday, the province processed a record-setting number of tests at 33,492. As a result, our positivity rate remains at all-time lows,” Health Minister Christine Elliott said in a tweet. “Locally, 29 of Ontario’s 34 public health units are reporting five or fewer new cases, with 17 of them reporting no new cases at all.”
Another eight people have died. In total, the virus has killed 2,652 people in Ontario and 64 per cent of those people were residents of long-term care homes.
As of June 26, Toronto Public Health has reported 56 new cases since yesterday. Peel Region reported 35 cases and York Region recorded 19.
@nowtoronto
