[ad_1]
The “stay at home” order has been extended until at least June 2, as COVID cases are on the rise in Ontario.
The Ontario Prime Minister has kept golf courses closed for outdoor recreational activities for at least another two weeks, despite calls from health officials to restore physical and mental health.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Doug Ford extended what he called the “stay at home” order for Canada’s largest province until at least June 2.
Retail stores are open to pick up on the edge and highways and roads are busy, but restaurants – including outdoor courtyards – are closed, as are class schools and gyms. Most non-essential workers are working from home amid the third wave of coronavirus infections caused by the variant.
The Ontario Medical Association released a statement this week highlighting the importance of outdoor recreational facilities such as golf courses, tennis and basketball courts to improve physical and mental health. Golf Ontario launched a campaign called “LetUsPlay”. Ontario is the only jurisdiction in North America that does not allow golf.
“There’s nothing wrong with golf. The problem is mobility, then they have some pop after golf. That’s the problem,” Ford said.
Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease scientist at the University of Toronto, said he is still disappointed with the restriction on outdoor activities. “These are safe and should be encouraged,” Bogoch wrote.
1 / Ontario will keep the application to stay at home until June 2nd.
According to Doug Ford, “We can’t rush to reopen.”
This is the right approach: it will help us integrate a lot of people and we will have greater community-level immunity. It should also become the last activated lock.
– Isaac Bogoch (@BogochIsaac) May 13, 2021
Dr. Andrew Morris, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Toronto, agreed.
“I think everyone shares these feelings: 1 Don’t open up yet – get the numbers down and the vaccines in your arms 2. Open up outside,” Morris tweeted.
Reactions from police, health experts and people last month led Ford to reverse the restrictions that closed playgrounds and asked police to explain to anyone who was not at home why they are out.
Vaccinations have proliferated in Canada, with at least 50% of adults in Toronto receiving at least one dose. The province expects 65% of Ontario lawmakers to have at least one dose by the end of the month.
Ford said the number of infections is slowly moving in the right direction and said the goal is for Ontario to be “as normal as possible in July and August.” Ontario reported more than 2,700 cases on Thursday.
“We can’t open it too fast,” Ford said.
Ford had earlier tried to open the activities despite warnings from health experts, and then quickly shut things down as the infections escalated.
[ad_2]
Source link
