Premier Doug Ford is considering shuttering gyms and personal care services like barbers and salons, and limiting the number of shoppers allowed in malls and stores for 28 days to fight runaway COVID-19 in Toronto and Peel Region, the Star has learned. Most of the measures are expected to take effect Monday and last until a week before Christmas, in a bid to get high case numbers under control. “We have some difficult but necessary decisions to make,” Ford said Thursday as the province reported hospital intensive care units were handling 150 COVID-19 patients, the level at which non-emergency surgeries were expected to be curtailed. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...Health Minister Christine Elliott said the current trend in case numbers that included 60 deaths in the last two days is “very concerning.”“They’re increasing even though we started restrictions on Oct. 10,” Elliott told reporters. The government is bringing more hospital beds into service, and working on regional solutions to surgeries facing cancellation so hospitals without as many COVID-19 patients can take them on, Elliott added.

Source: thestar November 19, 2020 17:27 UTC