Premier Ford teases Stage 3 of recovery process ‘very, very close’
Posted July 10, 2020 5:18 pm.
Last Updated July 10, 2020 5:30 pm.
Premier Doug Ford says the continuing downward trend of new cases across the province means we’ll be able to move to Stage 3 of the recovery process “very, very quickly.”
After provincial health officials reported a noticeable decline in the number of new daily coronavirus cases Friday, Ford was asked again when we might expect an announcement on Stage 3.
“I can’t give you an exact date but it’s very, very close,” Ford said during a stop at one of four businesses on Friday, where he thanked workers for their service during the pandemic.
“We’re going to Stage 3 very, very quickly. We just want to see a consistent downward trend and we have. We’ve had a couple of little road bumps within the migrant worker community that we’re getting over and they’re working hard. I feel sorry for the workers, the farmers, but we’re getting through it.”
While the spike in cases on Thursday was largely due to testing of migrant farmers in Windsor-Essex, 62 per cent of the 116 new cases of COVID-19 reported Friday were from Toronto, Peel and York regions.
Ford has hinted in the past that some parts of the province will move into the third stage quicker than others, similar to the approach taken with Stage 2.
While Stage 3 will involve opening the vast majority of businesses and workplaces that are still closed, the Premier said concerts and sporting events will remain off-limits for the forseeable future.
“When it comes to concerts or the baseball game, we still won’t be able to go to a baseball game and put 30,000 people in the stands or any concerts that might be happening,” said Ford.