Ontario sees spike in COVID-19 cases, reopening paused

Written By ALYSSA PARKHILL

The number of active COVID-19 cases in Ontario have spiked over the past week. 

As reported by the provincial government on Wednesday (Sept. 9), Ontario saw a total of 149 new cases in the province, 41 of them within Peel Region, 50 in Toronto and 16 in Ottawa. As of press time, there are around 1,540 active cases of coronavirus across Ontario. 

Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Christine Elliot took to Twitter on Tuesday (Sept 8), stating the provincial government will not be loosening anymore COVID-19 enforced restrictions for at least the next month. 

“Based on advice from the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Ontario will take a four-week pause – or two, 14-day cycles of the virus— before considering any further loosening of public health measures or reopening additional businesses, facilities and organizations,” she wrote.  

There were 31 new cases reported in Peel Region as of Monday (Sept. 7), with 20 of those in Brampton, nine in Mississauga and two in Caledon. 

“Nothing is more important than protecting the health and well-being of all Ontarians, including especially our most vulnerable. Together we've made remarkable progress in our fight against COVID-19,” said Minister Elliot in a recent news conference. 

As students head back to school this week, the recent spike in cases has caused concern amongst parents worried for the safety of their children. The provincial government claims they are doing all that they can to keep students safe from the virus. 

“We are providing $1.3 billion in supports for schools. (We've hired) 624 more public health nurses, 1,300 new cleaning staff, providing $246 million to hire more staff, the most rigorous and comprehensive health and safety protocols in the entire country,” said Premier Doug Ford in an announcement on Tuesday.

With the main focus on getting students back to school, the decision to halt all other reopening plans for the province did not come lightly, Elliott claimed.  

“Taking a pause in further re-opening will help avoid broad-scale closures and shutdowns,” stated Minister Elliott. “And on the first day of school for many students, we need to do everything we can to limit the spread of COVID-19. The best way to keep our schools safe is to keep our communities safe.”

The spike comes after a month of low confirmed counts in active COVID-19 cases. To date, since the pandemic began back in March, there have been a total of 43,536 confirmed cases in the province, with 8,048 confirmed in Peel region. 

For more information, please visit peelregion.ca.