In a calm but stern tone, Toronto's Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa outlined a number of enhanced recommendations for the City today.
Those recommendations are as follows:
Dr. de Villa also said that she's working with the province to reduce the number of open workplaces and businesses. According to de Villa, Toronto has seen a 500% increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the past two weeks.
Mayor Tory asked Dr. de Villa to lay out all of these recommendations and statistics to provide an appropriate backdrop for residents to understand just how dire current circumstances are and the need to heed the recommendations.
"The numbers are currently headed in the wrong direction," said Tory before laying clear that he wants Toronto residents to "only leave home once a week if possible."
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Mayor Tory also said during question period that he has a By-law drafted that would enforce social distancing, but that he hasn't felt he needs to introduce it yet. The By-law would only pertain to City property and would contain some form of sanctions.
"These sacrifices will save lives," Tory says.
Yesterday, Mayor Tory announced the cancellation of all City-led events and permits for all public events until June 30th. Meanwhile, all park amenities and sports fields have been closed across the entire province and public schools will remain closed until May 4th at the earliest.
"COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact on our world, and on our city," said Toronto's Medical Officer of Health Dr. de Villa.
During the City's public health update, the province's most recent COVID-19 update was released, showing the largest single-day jump to date with 426 new cases reported. The provincial total now sits at 2,392 confirmed cases.
