Toronto Mayor John Tory says he believes more measures should be implemented over the holidays in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19.
During a press conference Wednesday morning, John Tory called the current situation “very alarming” and added “the spread of this virus is not abating in a manner that we would’ve liked.”
“I’m certainly one who believes we should do the maximum amount that we can feasibly and properly do with public confidence on medical advice so that we can really use the Christmas period to try to wrestle this thing more to the ground,” Tory said.
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The mayor said his view is that new restrictions should apply “across the entire region,” and added that people are too easily moving from regions with strict restrictions to those that are more open.
“We have to look at some of the things that they’ve done, for example, in Quebec with respect to saying in a period of time that will be quieter for the economy and for business generally, to say to people that we don’t need you to be going to work unless you absolutely positively have to,” he added.
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Tory said discussions are ongoing with the province as much of the decision-making with restrictions lies with the provincial government. But the mayor added that the city has also been looking at more ways to get people to stay home.
“We’ve discussed this morning just shutting down further city programs that are still operating to send the signal that we want to give you fewer places to go so that you will stay home,” he said.
Tory said in the end, the most important aspect of reducing the spread of COVID-19 comes down to people deciding to stay home.
“We’ve got to get the message across to people,” he said.
Toronto is currently in the lockdown stage of the province’s coronavirus response framework, which is the strictest level of restrictions. The city, along with neighbouring Peel Region, are facing a Dec. 21 deadline when the restrictions must either be renewed or altered. York Region also entered lockdown on Monday for a 28-day period.
“We have a deadline for two big municipalities — Toronto and Peel — coming up next week on Monday and I think in advance of that it’s fair to give people notice of what it is you’re going to do, whether that’s just to lift the restrictions or whether it’s to change them or increase them,” Tory said, adding that he’d like to have a decision by the end of the week.
Ontario reported 2,139 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, marking the second-largest single-day increase in cases to date in the province. Of those, 780 were from Toronto.