Ontario Premier Doug Ford says future COVID-19 lockdowns are “not our goal” and he wants the province to “move forward” cautiously so restrictions don’t need to be reimposed again.
At a press conference in Ajax, Ont., on Tuesday, Ford was asked about recent comments he made about “learning to live” with COVID-19 and whether that means lockdowns won’t be imposed again.
The question came just hours after the province’s COVID-19 science advisory table released new modelling that indicated hospitalizations are expected to rise with restrictions easing.
“It was Dr. (Kieran) Moore that said we’ve got to learn learn to live with it and I agree with him,” Ford said.
“What we’re doing, we’re putting more money into the health-care system.”
The premier said recent investments, including the hiring of 6,700 health-care workers and the creation of 3,100 new beds, have made the province’s health-care system stronger.
“Are we ready? Yeah, we’re ready,” Ford said.
“We’re ready to move forward, but we have to do it cautiously. We can’t just jump into it and just open everything up tomorrow. We have to be very, very cautious. We have a strong plan.”
Ford said hospitals are in “better shape” than they were previously, but are still feeling pressure.
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The premier was then asked to clarify whether lockdowns were still possible in the future.
“No, that’s not our goal,” he said.
“Our goal is to move forward in a very cautious way to make sure we don’t have to have lockdowns.
“There’s no secret we have the toughest guidelines in North America. In North America. As everyone’s moving forward, we’re being cautious.”
Ford also called on the federal government to provide more health-care funding.
Health Minister Christine Elliott said she is confident the province’s health system will be able to “gradually and cautiously” resume non-urgent procedures.
Ford again touted vaccinations as the way to “slowly get out” of the pandemic.
On Monday, some COVID-19 restrictions eased in Ontario. Among the changes, gyms and indoor dining at restaurants and bars were allowed to reopen.
Some procedures that were paused to preserve health system capacity were also allowed to restart as of Monday.
As part of the phased plan to ease restrictions in Ontario, more measures are scheduled to be lifted on Feb. 21 and then again on March 14.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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