Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday that he will be meeting with his cabinet to take control of COVID-19 in the province’s hotspots – including Peel. Ford acknowledged that it was possible to reduce the gathering limits for Toronto, Peel Region and Ottawa, three of the largest centres for confirmed COVID-19 cases in the province.
The admission comes as lineups at hospitals across the region exceeded capacity, causing residents to be turned away when they waited in line for a test. Trillium Health Partners said Wednesday that lineups caused the health system to stop accepting patients. Ford said he had discussed the matter with the mayors. In his daily COVID-19 briefing, Ford indicated that, “When it comes to implementing policies and guidelines, we all have a 99.9 percent consensus. We want to work on this fast.”
The premier said fines fall under provincial jurisdiction, so there is no need to rely on the federal government to enforce them. When asked about attending MP Stan Cho’s wedding, Ford said “all protocols were followed at the wedding.” Health Minister Christine Elliott also said also indicated that the province is fully prepared for a second wave, especially when it comes to testing and hospital capacity.
