Ontario doctors urging province to close non-essential businesses and services

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Published November 16, 2020 at 11:30 pm

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With the number of new COVID-19 cases continuing to climb every day, it’s projected Ontario could reach 6,500 new daily cases by mid to late December.

As a result, doctors across Ontario are urging citizens to resume the hygiene practices and physical distancing measures adopted in March in order to flatten the curve.

“We know that everyone is weary of being cooped up in their homes and missing friends and family, especially as the holiday season approaches,” Samantha Hill, president of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA), said in a news release.

“As Premier Ford has said, to defeat this pandemic, we need to all work together—patients, doctors on the front line and the government. This pandemic will pass. The decisions we make and the actions we take will determine who will be alive and what our society will look like then. Together we can create a better future and frankly we must,” she continued.

The OMA is urging Ontarians to take precautions to reduce the risk of spreading the virus by washing their hands regularly; wear a mask while inside public, enclosed spaces; avoid crowded places; celebrate only with other members of the household; and download the COVID-19 app.

Further, the OMA is urging the province to fix the new framework for when regions can tighten and loosen pandemic restrictions—it has suggested the current format allows too many businesses to remain open even when many people in their communities have the virus.

The OMA is also encouraging hotspot areas—such as Toronto and Peel—to pause all non-essential services (including all public events) to slow the spread.

“We appreciate that the government is trying to balance managing the pandemic and the economy, both of which impact everyone’s health and livelihoods,” Allan O’Dette, CEO of the OMA, said in the same release.

“The OMA shares Premier Ford’s objectives. All Ontarians are in this together,” he continued.

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