On Sunday, new safety measures came into effect to try and mitigate the ongoing COVID-19 case surge in Ontario along with protecting Ontarians against the Omicron variant.
The new measures saw a 50 per cent limit on indoor public settings such restaurants, gyms, bars, and grocery stores to name a few.
In addition to the capacity decrease, the province reduced informal social gathering limits to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.
Kenora-Rainy River MPP, Greg Rickford expressed his concern about the new strain in an interview with the Q Morning Show today (Dec 20, 2021).
“This Omicron is taking us all the way. We know we can’t shut down the Omicron but we can mitigate its impact and I think following some of the basic rules that we’re used to, social distancing, and good masking.”
These new measures came as the province was recording record high daily COVID-19 cases, and more and more discoveries of the Omicron variant.
On Friday, the province recorded 3,124 new cases, while on Saturday, another 3,301 new cases were discovered – the highest one-day total since early May. On Sunday, more than 4,000 new infections were discovered.
On Monday, the Northwestern Health Unit reported - its highest single-day case count since February 13, 2021, as 46 new cases were discovered.
Rickford concluded, by reminding people getting their third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is the best way of fighting the new variant strain.
Currently, in the NWHU catchment area, 98.2 per cent of those 12 and older have gotten their first dose, while 93.3 per cent are fully immunized.
Those that want to get their first, second, or third dose can book their appointment through the NWHU online booking site.
Monday, marked the official start date of when those aged 18 years of age and older are eligible for their third dose, as long as it's been at least 3 months or 84 days since your second dose of the vaccine.