Ford urges young people to maintain public health rules amid rise in cases
July 21, 2020
By
The Canadian Press
Premier urges families to emphasize importance of physical distancing
TORONTO — Premier Doug Ford says young people must avoid going to parties and violating physical distancing rules after the province recorded a spike in COVID-19 cases among that age group in recent days.
Ford says young people who violate the public health measures are endangering their families, especially their parents and grandparents.
The premier says he believes the vast majority of young people in the province are following the rules, but a small group are affecting the numbers.
Ford is also urging families to emphasize the importance of following physical distancing and social bubble rules to their younger members.
He says the province has no current plans to take action against young people who break the rules, such as imposing extra fines.
Spike in cases
Ontario reported more than 200 new cases of COVID-19 for the first time since late June on Tuesday morning, and the province’s health minister said most of the cases were in people aged under 39.
Christine Elliott singled out notable increases in case numbers outside the Greater Toronto Area, including 43 new cases in Ottawa and 24 in the Windsor-Essex region. She said 57 of the new cases were reported in Peel Region, just west of Toronto.
There was one new death reported Tuesday alongside 203 new cases, the highest single-day serge in the province since June 29.
New case numbers have climbed over the past several days since nearly falling below 100 last week.
Elliott, who said 57 per cent of Tuesday’s new diagnoses came in people under the age of 39, called the latest figures “concerning” and urged Ontario residents to redouble their personal health precautions.
“Ontarians of all ages need to continue to adhere to public health guidelines,” she wrote in a tweet. “Maintain only one social circle of 10 people, physically distance with anyone outside of it and wear a face covering when doing so.”
The total number of cases in the province now stands at 37,942, which includes 2,753 deaths and 33,605 resolved cases.
There were 92 resolved cases newly reported on Tuesday, meaning new cases have outpaced newly resolved cases for multiple days in a row.
