Yesterday’s big news was a reported increase of 200 new cases in Ontario. In B.C. Dr. Bonnie Henry is warning of a potential explosion in new cases if current trends are continuing. This is indeed worrisome news. Especially after all the hard work Canadians have done to help flatten the curve during the spring season.
Unfortunately, the data we are looking at right now is not real time. It is delayed because of the 14 day incubation period of COVID-19. In Ontario, these new case increases are from our initial Stage 2 reopening. That only happened four weeks ago in Toronto and Peel region. I suspect that its still too early to expect stage 3 numbers to be reported. However, it is apparent that we didn’t wait to see how stage 2 affected the spread of COVID-19 before declaring victory and moving on to stage 3.
The mad rush to reopen into stage 3, is looking more and more like a rushed decision. It should also be highlighted that the biggest increase in new cases are in people under the age of 40. It’s a safe assumption that the correlation is with the reopening of patios, it has lead to a brief resurgence of the virus. Allowing indoor spaces to reopen will only exacerbate the spread. This isn’t surprising. The messaging surrounding the reopening of Ontario has been a muddled mess. Confusing and complicated. Or better put:
https://twitter.com/draglikepull/status/1285654141809893376?s=21
If the bars and restaurants are going to be reopening for stage 3, clearly tighter and stricter regulations that are enforceable are needed. They are needed now, because a bigger deadline is looming in only five weeks. The first day of school.
Joel MacLeod.ca 