Ontario’s lockdown measures will continue until at least June 2, Premier Doug Ford said in a COVID-19 update today.
“The situation is slowly trending in a better direction. Make no mistake—we’re not out of the woods yet,” he said. “Our hospitals are still under immense pressure. The spread of variants remains a major concern.”
Assuming current trends continue, the province will look to relax measures on outdoor activities on June 2 with further opening of the province in the following weeks.
Citing the continuing spread of variants of concern, lax border controls that allow too many travellers to exploit loopholes, and high numbers of ICU cases, Ford said that the province can’t rush to reopen.
Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, noted that ICU numbers, although coming down, are at about the same level as the peak of the second wave. From May 5 to 12, the number of patients with COVID-related critical illness in intensive care decreased from 877 to 776.
Students will continue virtual learning for now. The premier said that he’s been getting mixed messages from doctors and teachers’ unions, with some of the former telling him schools need to reopen and the latter saying they need to remain closed, and added that he wants to see consensus from all on the best path forward.
Premier Ford also said that as of May 31, people aged 12-17 will be able to book a vaccine appointment through the provincial booking system—on May 5, Health Canada authorized the use of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in children 12 to 15 years of age. The province will also work with public health units to offer both doses of vaccine to youth aged 12 to 17 by the end of August, before the start of the next school year.
If supply is available, Ford said that the province will also work toward a “two-dose summer”, reducing the gap between first and second doses for as many people as possible.
For those who have already received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, “we have very little concern about the second dose at this stage,” said Dr. Williams, adding that they are looking at the data to ensure that those who had no issue with a first dose will also have no issue with a second dose. “We want our public to have an informed consent” when choosing to have a second dose of AstraZenca vaccine versus opting for an mRNA vaccine like Pfizer or Moderna for a second dose instead.
Dr. Williams added that he’d like to be able to provide more data on the cumulative effect of a first dose of AstraZeneca combined with a second dose of an mRNA vaccine so that people have the information needed to make a decision.
First doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have currently been paused in Ontario “out of an abundance of caution”, said Dr. Williams, due to an increase in the number of people developing blood clots from about one in 100,000 to one in 60,000.
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