Ontario cabinet to meet as cases of COVID-19 hit new high
Posted April 15, 2021 1:58 pm.
Last Updated April 15, 2021 2:45 pm.
Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet is meeting Thursday to discuss new restrictions necessary to deal with the alarming rise in COVID-19 variant cases that are putting immense pressure on hospitals.
Solicitor General Sylvia Jones would not say what measures the cabinet would consider or if a curfew – similar to the one enforced in Montreal – would be among them.
“Premier Ford has said from the very beginning of this pandemic, that all options are on the table,” Jones said. “And that continues to be our philosophy as a cabinet and a caucus.”
Jones, however, acknowledged the challenges a curfew would present in Ontario, pointing to the anti-curfew protests in Quebec.
“I think the Montreal riots speak to the challenge of both enforcing, and people’s willingness to do a curfew,” she said.
The meeting comes as Ontario reported a record 4,736 new cases of COVID-19 today and 29 more deaths linked to the virus.
It also comes ahead of new pandemic projections set to be released tomorrow by science experts advising the government.
Jones says the current COVID-19 situation in Ontario is serious and urged residents to follow public rules.
There are currently 1,932 people in hospital with COVID-19 across the province, with 659 patients in intensive care and 419 on a ventilator.
