COVID-19 numbers are increasing, more people are dying, and more people believe the pandemic is over. According to Public Health Ontario, as of Oct. 1, there are 52,248 cases.
A lockdown is the only way to end the pandemic.
According to Public Health Ontario, on Oct. 1, there are 538 new confirmed cases, which is a one per cent increase from the day before.
This may not seem like a big increase but if the cases increase by one per cent per day for a week then at the end of a week there will have been a seven per cent increase of cases.
On Sept. 28, the premier of Ontario, Doug Ford said, “Ontario is now in the second wave of COVID-19. We know that this wave will be more complicated, more complex, it will be worse.”
By Oct. 2, Ford had asked Ontarians to put a pause on social circles and only be in close contact with people in their household. But people living alone are allowed to meet with others while socially distancing.
A full lockdown would stop people from meeting others and passing the virus from person to person.
On Sept. 17, in stage three, the provincial government reduced the sizes of gatherings from 50 people back down to 10 people inside and 25 people outside.
The provincial government is trying to slow down the spread of the virus by reducing the sizes of group gatherings, this action is not enough. Opening up most non-essential stores across Ontario is taking two-steps backwards instead of two steps forward.
Ontario needs to be doing more to get ahead of the curve.
On Oct. 1 at Queen’s Park, Ford said, “It’s the people that make a difference in the fight.”
This is true.
You cannot win a fight by sitting around doing nothing; people need to wear masks, wash hands constantly and properly social distance. To slow the onslaught of the second wave of this pandemic, Ontario needs to be in lockdown.
People need to start to treat this pandemic as an emergency.
The numbers make it clear people are not following the social distancing protocols. According to Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health, there are 40,000 COVID-19 tests available for the public. As flu season approaches, it becomes necessary to get testing done to find asymptotic people who are not showing any signs of COVID-19.
As of Sept. 25, select pharmacies can give the COVID-19 test, which is making it easier to get tested.
As the cases increase, more people are still going outside, and asymptotic people are infecting others without realizing it. A lockdown is the only way to stop the spread and put an end to the virus.
While we wait for Ontario to go back into lockdown, people are getting affected by COVID-19. In Ontario, as of Oct. 1, there have been 2,851 deaths caused by COVID-19.
Ontario needs to hurry up, put more actions into place and make it mandatory that Ontario goes into another lockdown before a second wave hits harder than the first.