Waterloo Region Record

Battling Omicron

Ontario sees ‘glimmers of hope’ in fight against variant, health minister says

ALLISON JONES

Ontario is planning to ease COVID-19 restrictions on indoor restaurant dining, gyms, movie theatres and more on Jan. 31, allowing them to open at 50 per cent customer capacity with masking protocols and proof of vaccination, sources told the Toronto Star Wednesday.

The date, a week from Monday, will mark almost four weeks since Premier Doug Ford ordered venues closed on Jan. 5 to quell the Omicron variant, which has sent new COVID-19 infection levels off the charts and filled hospitals with record numbers of patients.

Ford is expected to announce details at a news conference Thursday.

The news came as Ontario is seeing “glimmers of hope” in its fight against the Omicron variant, health minister Christine Elliott said Wednesday.

COVID-19 cases are expected to peak this month, Elliott said, with a peak in hospitalizations and ICU admissions to follow. New hospitalizations are doubling roughly every two weeks, instead of doubling every seven days, as was the case just a few weeks ago, she said.

“I do want to be clear, February will continue to pose challenges, especially for our hospitals as people continue to require care for COVID-19,” Elliott said.

“But our goal has always been to ensure capacity is there to provide care for those who need it. Given current trends, we are increasingly confident in our ability to do so.”

When the government announced a new round of public health restrictions earlier this month — including the closures of many types of businesses — it was done to avoid overwhelming hospitals, Elliott said.

“I want to assure Ontarians that we’re starting to see glimmers of hope,” she said. “The sacrifices you’re making now have meant we are beginning to see signs of stabilization.”

Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, said the rate of hospitalizations and cases in the intensive care unit are increasing at a slower pace. The average length of stay in hospital for COVID-19 patients is now five days with the Omicron variant, compared to nine days with Delta, he said.

“I’m starting to have more hope and cautious optimism,” Moore said.

The government announced on Jan. 3 that restaurants were ordered closed for indoor dining, museums, zoos and other such attractions were shut down, as were gyms, indoor recreation facilities, cinemas and indoor concert venues, while retail settings and personal care services were capped at 50 per cent capacity.

The restrictions were expected to last until at least Jan. 26, and Moore said last week he could not guarantee those businesses would reopen on that date.

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2022-01-20T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-20T08:00:00.0000000Z

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