By Haldimand Press Staff
HALDIMAND—Just under a month since the provincial government laid out an aggressive set of measures to control the spread of the Omicron variant, Premier Doug Ford has announced plans to slowly reopen the province once again. The first phase of the rollback will occur on January 31 and will play out similarly to last spring’s rollback, with tiered steps expected every 21 days and allowing for more interaction over time.
“The evidence tells us that the measures we put in place to blunt transmission of Omicron are working,” said Ford. “We can be confident that the worst is behind us…. While February will continue to present its own challenges, given current trends these are challenges we are confident we can manage.”
This evidence includes a drop in new cases, hospitalization rates stabilizing, and length-of-stay times for patients decreasing.
Since Ontario entered a modified Step Two on January 5, over 150,000 Ontarians have received a first dose of the vaccine and more than 725,000 Ontarians have received their booster, with the province accounting for nearly 50% of all third doses in Canada. Locally, 76.9% of the population above 5 is fully vaccinated.
Additionally, as of January 17, Health Canada has approved the antiviral Paxlovid to treat symptoms in positive cases. Ontario is expected to receive around 10,000 doses from the federal government in January.
As of January 31, social gathering limits will increase to 10 people indoors and 25 outside with 50% capacity restrictions (or a maximum of 500 people) in place for food, shopping, and recreational facilities. Enhanced proof of vaccination will remain a requirement in all applicable settings.
On February 21, gathering limits will increase to 25 people indoors and 100 people outdoors. Capacity limits will be removed for indoor environments where proof of vaccination is required. At this time, settings that do not require vaccination passports will remain limited to the amount of people who can maintain two metres of distance, but those places will have the option to enact a vaccine policy and eliminate that limit.
On March 14, social gathering limits will increase to 50 people indoors with no limits for outdoor events. All remaining capacity limits will be relieved for indoor public spaces, while maintaining proof of vaccination requirements. The same will apply to all religious services, rites, or ceremonies.
To manage COVID-19 over the long-term, responses by public health units may continue to be deployed based on local context and conditions.
“Thanks to the sacrifices of Ontarians we are starting to see glimmers of hope. However, we know the coming weeks will continue to pose challenges, especially for our hospital partners,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “As we continue to chart our path forward, we will continue to take a gradual and cautious approach to lifting public health measures to protect our hospital capacity and ensure patients can continue to access the care they need.”
The Caledonia Riverside Exhibition Centre has regular walk-in appointments from 11 a.m to 3 p.m. A full list of available clinics is available online at hnhu.org/popup.
