Hamilton and Burlington could be some of the last municipalities to reopen
- Craig Clark
- 03 Jun 2020
Hamilton and Burlington are likely to reopen much later than other parts of the province according to Doug Ford’s plan to lift COVID-19 restrictions.
The two municipalities were lumped in with the Greater Toronto Area when the Ontario Premier was asked about regionally reopening the economy on Monday.
Premier Ford Provides a COVID-19 Update https://t.co/NDHS9qxVbV
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) June 1, 2020
Further details of Ford’s plan will be released within the next few days with the Premier citing that a regional approach is incredibly difficult.
Ford announced the province’s enhanced testing strategy on May 29th, which will play a key role in reopening the economy. The three-pronged strategy focuses on assessment centres, managing outbreaks, and testing campaigns.
Hamilton already has been managing outbreaks and three assessment centres at the West End Clinic, King Campus urgent care centres, and the Dave Andreychuk Mountain Arena.
With a much wider list of symptoms being tested, assessment centres have experienced a surge in people wanting to get tested.
The drive-thru centre at the Dave Andreychuk Mountain Arena had plans to downsize before the province expanded the testing requirements within the last two weeks. They have seen a jump of almost 70 additional visitors seeking tests each day.
Although the requirements have been loosened, public health officials still encourage those looking to get tested to make an appointment through their family doctor or by calling public health.
With outbreaks at Rosslyn Retirement Residence and Cardinal Retirement Residence, community spread is still a contributing factor to the coronavirus in Hamilton.
Hamilton has 685 total confirmed and probable cases, while Halton has 719 with 137 of those in Burlington.
This week, Premier Doug Ford also announced that the province will be extending its current emergency orders until June 30th.
Comments 0
There are no comments
Add comment