Halton Mayors have sent a letter to provincial officials including Ontario regarding the possibility of coming under phase 2 restrictions. The move comes as the province hints at rolling back COVID-19 restrictions to phase two for the region.
Local officials are arguing in favour of a balanced approached for restrictions. “A more measured approach would be for the province to provide guidance and specifically target sources of community spread,” the letter said. Halton and Durham are the only region within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) under phase three restrictions.
Provincial officials have been watching Halton’s COVID-19 case numbers. The last week saw the region average 30 cases/ day. One week ago York Region joined Peel, Ottawa, and Toronto in a modified stage 2. Restrictions include the closure of gyms, and indoor dining, movie theatres and casinos.
Friday afternoon during is daily briefing Ford commented that discussions were ongoing with Halton and Durham regarding the increasing COVID-19 case counts. “Well we are going to discuss all the different regions that we see a little escalation in the cases and we will be able to discuss that on Monday, and give you a clearer answer,” he said.
Today the province recorded its highest ever COVID-19 case total at 978, and six additional deaths. 294 have been hospitalized, and 82 are in ICU. Locally Halton has seen another 35 cases of COVID19. Of those, nine are in Burlington, five are in Halton Hills, 10 are in Milton, and 11 in Oakville. Six Long Term Care Homes are considered to be “in outbreak”. None of those are in Milton.
