The area covered by Public Health Sudbury & Districts has moved down the chain of protection under Ontario’s new COVID-19 framework.
In today’s press conference, Health Minister Christine Elliott provided an updated list of the levels public health areas have been moved to to deal with the rising tide of COVID-19 cases.
Elliott said Public Health Sudbury, which was in the Green-Prevent zone, has been moved down to the Yellow-Protect level.
The areas with the highest levels of virus transmission — Hamilton, Halton, Peel Region, Toronto and York Region — have moved down to Red-Control, meaning they’re being dropped from Stage 3 to modified Stage 2. That is one level higher than Grey, which is a full lockdown.
Under new modelling released Nov. 12, Ontario could see as many as 6,500 new daily cases of COVID-19 by mid-December unless steps are taken to limit the spread of the virus. The new modelling predicts the province will reach 2,500 new daily cases by that time if the growth rate is at three per cent, or 6,500 if growth is at five per cent.
In announcing the province is stepping up protection measures in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases, Premier Doug Ford didn’t mince words.
“We’re staring down the barrel of another lockdown,” Ford said.
Ontario residents are being advised to remain home except for work, school, groceries, medical appointments and exercise. Ontario paused social circles on Oct. 3, and the public is asked not to visit other people’s homes, to avoid social gatherings and not to visit people in other communities.
“If you are in a Red region, only leave your home for essential purposes,” Elliott said.
Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, touched on the rising tide of COVID-19 cases globally, as well as rising death tolls and hospitalization rates.
Williams also highlighted the new modelling released on Thursday and said social gatherings have meant people are having too much contact with one another in situations where distancing and masking aren’t effective.
As Public Health Sudbury noted this week, he particularly noted “large Halloween parties” as being a partial cause of the recent rise in cases, urging the public to avoid social gatherings for the time being. He ended his comments on a positive note.
“The modelling released yesterday is alarming,” Williams said. “We’ve flattened the curve before; we can do it again.”
