On Friday, Premier Doug Ford made an announcement involving the update of the Keeping Ontario Safe and Open Framework.
The plan announced just over a week ago, was implemented to control the spread of the coronavirus while keeping schools and businesses open and protecting those vulnerable.
“It’s clear COVID-19 will be with us for a while, which is why we are putting in place a framework that will protect the health and safety of individuals and families, while avoiding broader closures across the province,” said Premier Ford during the initial plan release on Nov 4.
The five colour-coded zones remain:
- PREVENT (standard measures) – green: “Restrictions reflect broadest allowance of activities in Stage 3. Highest risk settings remain closed.”
- PROTECT (strengthened measures) – yellow: “Enhanced targeted enforcement, fines and enhanced education to limit further transmission. Public health measures for high risk settings.”
- RESTRICT (immediate measures) – orange: “Enhanced measures, restrictions and enforcement, avoiding any closures.”
- CONTROL (stringent measures) red: “Broader-scale measures and restrictions across multiple sectors to control transmission (return to modified Stage 2). Restrictions are the most severe available before widescale business or organizational closure.”
- LOCKDOWN (maximum measures) grey: “Widescale measures and restrictions, including closures, to halt or interrupt transmission (modified Stage 1 or pre-Stage 1).”
The framework changes are said to be in response to the current data and trends as Ontario entered the eighth straight day of quadruple digit case counts on Friday.
The province released modelling showing Ontario could register up to 6,500 new cases per day by mid-December if action is not immediately taken.
“We need to be clear about what’s at stake. We’re staring down the barrel of another lockdown and I will not hesitate for a second if we have to go further,” The Premier said during the announcement on Friday.
The new update helps introduce preventative measures earlier on to help avoid province wide closures.
The thresholds for each of the five levels have been lowered for: weekly incidence rates, positivity rate, effective reproductive number (Rt), outbreak trends and the level of community transmission.
For example, a region can now enter the “red zone” when the region reaches a weekly incidence rate of 40 cases per 100,000.
Before, a region was required to have a weekly incidence rate of 100 new cases per 100,000 to enter the “red zone”.
“Over the last week we have seen an alarming shift in the trends of key public health indicators in regions across the province,” said Minister of Health, Christine Elliott. “The COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, and our government’s response must evolve with it…protecting the health and well-being of Ontarians remains our top priority.”
What does this mean for the London region?
London was in the PREVENT (standard measures) – green zone with most of the province when the new system was released Tuesday, Nov 3.
Currently, the region covered by the Middlesex London Health Unit has moved to the PROTECT (strengthened measures) yellow zone beginning Monday, Nov 16.
Nearly 180 cases have been reported in London and Middlesex since the beginning of November.
The total number of cases in the region as of Friday is just over double the amount of cases the region saw in July.
The MLHU reported a collective total of 1,312 COVID-19 cases on Nov 13. Just over double the 652 cases the region saw in mid-July.
Other regions that will enter the yellow zone beginning Monday include:
- Huron Perth Public Health
- Public Health Sudbury & Districts
- Southwestern Public Health
- Windsor-Essex County Health Unit
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