November 3, 2020, Premier Doug Ford announced the release of the Keeping Ontario Safe and Open Framework, which includes new guidelines for adjusting and tightening regional public health measures. In accordance with these new guidelines, Premier Ford also announced that the public health regions of Ottawa, Peel, and York will be permitted to move from modified Stage 2 to the new “Restrict” level, in which public health measures are somewhat loosened, as of Saturday, November 7th. The public health region of Toronto will be moved to the “Restrict” level one week later, on Saturday, November 14th.

Premier Ford was joined by Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Christine Elliott; Minister of Finance, Rod Phillips; and Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. David Williams. Following this afternoon’s announcement, Premier Ford and Dr. Williams responded to questions from media.

Additional Announcements

Earlier today, the Ontario government also announced the sale of three surplus properties in the Greater Toronto Area, with the requirement that long-term care homes be built on portions of the properties. As a result of this initiative, the government expects that nearly 900 new long-term care spaces will be created.

Further Details

Keeping Ontario Safe and Open Framework

This afternoon, Premier Ford announced the release of the Keeping Ontario Safe and Open Framework¸ which updates guidelines for adjusting regional public health measures by implementing an early warning system with clear numerical indicators of when to loosen or tighten measures in a given region. As a result, Premier Ford said that Ontarians will have a better sense of COVID-19 trends and the relative level of risk in their area.

The intent of the new framework is for public health measures to be targeted, incremental, and responsive to limit the spread of COVID-19, while keeping schools and businesses open, maintaining health system capacity, and protecting vulnerable people. The framework places a greater emphasis on introducing preventative public health measures earlier, in order to avoid broader closures or lockdowns.

The Keeping Ontario Safe and Open Framework categorizes public health measures into five levels with differing public health and workplace safety measures:

Green (“Prevent”)
This level is equivalent to what was formerly known as “Stage 3,” reflecting the broadest amount of permitted activities without a vaccine or treatment being widely available. The objective of this level is to prevent the spread of COVID-19 through education and awareness of public health and workplace safety measures.

Criteria for public health regions to be classified at this level include:

  • A weekly incidence rate of less than 10 per 100,000 population
  • Percentage positivity among all COVID tests of less than 1%
  • A reproduction number of less than 1, meaning that on average, every COVID-19-positive individual transmits the virus to less than one other person
  • Adequate hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) capacity
  • Adequate case and contact follow up within 24 hours

Yellow (“Protect”)
The objective of this level is to protect residents from COVID-19 using enhanced targeted enforcement, fines, and additional education to limit further transmission.

Criteria for public health regions to be classified at this level include:

  • A weekly incidence rate of 10 to 39.9 per 100,000 population
  • Percentage positivity among all COVID tests of 1 – 2.5%
  • A reproduction number of approximately 1, meaning that on average, every COVID-19-positive individual transmits the virus to one other person
  • Adequate hospital and ICU capacity
  • Adequate case and contact follow up within 24 hours

Orange (“Restrict”)
The objective of this level is to restrict spread by implementing enhanced measures, restrictions and enforcement, while avoiding closures.

Criteria for public health regions to be classified at this level include:

  • A weekly incidence rate of 40 to 99.9 per 100,000 population
  • Percentage positivity among all COVID tests of 2.5 – 9.9%
  • A reproduction number of approximately 1 to 1.2, meaning that on average, every COVID-19-positive individual transmits the virus to 1 – 1.2 other people
  • Adequate or increasing hospital and ICU capacity
  • Case and contact follow up within 24 hours that is at risk of becoming overwhelmed

Red (“Control”)
This level is equivalent to what was formerly known as “modified Stage 2”. The objective of this level is to control transmission by implementing broader-scale measures and restrictions across multiple sectors.

Criteria for public health regions to be classified at this level include:

  • A weekly incidence rate of greater than 100 per 100,000 population
  • Percentage positivity among all COVID tests of greater than 10%
  • A reproduction number of more than 1.2, meaning that on average, every COVID-19-positive individual transmits the virus to 1.2 or more people
  • Hospital and ICU capacity that is at risk of being overwhelmed
  • Capacity for case and contact management that is at risk or overwhelmed

Lockdown
This level is a measure of last and urgent resort and is equivalent to a return to what was formerly known as “Stage 1.” The objective of this level is to halt or interrupt transmission by implementing widescale measures and restrictions, including closures. At this level, a declaration of emergency may also be considered.

A public health region will be classified at this level in the event that trends continue to worsen after measures from the “Control” level have been implemented.

Ontario will move to the new classification system outlined above as of Saturday, November 7th, 2020. At the same time, the public health regions of Ottawa, Peel, and York will be moved from modified Stage 2 to the “Restrict” level. The government is also proposing to add Eastern Ontario Health Unit to the “Restrict” level to address concerning trends in the area. Toronto will be moved to the “Restrict” level on November 14th.

In addition, the government is proposing strengthening public health measures in Brant, Hamilton, Durham, and Halton, by moving these regions to the “Protect” level.

Final decisions on the classification of each public health unit will be confirmed on Friday, November 6th, in consultation with Dr. Williams.

A breakdown of proposed sector-specific public health and workplace safety measures at each level can be found here.

Access to Public Health Data

In addition to today’s release of the new framework, the government also announced enhancements to Ontario.ca/coronavirus. Information about the spread of the virus, and public health and health system capacity will now be available on the website. The government hopes that this information will help keep businesses, organizations, and local communities better-informed and prepared for changes in their region.

Support for Businesses Affected by COVID-19 Public Health Measures

Following the release of the new framework, Minister Phillips provided an update on the $300 million that the Ontario government has made available to support businesses that are significantly impacted by public health measures.

Beginning November 16th, 2020, eligible businesses that have been required to close or significantly restrict services will be able to apply through an online portal for temporary property tax and energy cost rebates. This will apply to businesses in modified Stage 2 public health regions (Ottawa, Peel, Toronto, and York) and to regions categorized as “Control” or “Lockdown” going forward.

Eligible businesses include restaurants, bars, gyms and cinemas.

Questions from Media

Keeping Ontario Safe and Open Framework

In response to questions about why the government decided to loosen restrictions as of Saturday in Ottawa, Peel, and York, Premier Ford explained that there have been some encouraging trends in these regions, particularly in Ottawa. Dr. Wlliams added that the government spoke with local medical officers of health in each of the affected regions and there was a consensus that ongoing closures are harmful to the economy.

Social Circles and Gathering Sizes

When asked about gathering sizes and whether the government plans to revisit the concept of social circles, Premier Ford said this is not currently something that is being considered. He added that he wouldn’t encourage anyone to host or attend indoor gatherings of more than 10 people.

Schools

When questioned why schools were not included in the new guidelines, Dr. Williams explained that schools have been reopened with a number of protective measures in place, adding that the main source of school cases is students who came to school COVID-positive, likely after contracting the virus from a family member. He explained that acting to reduce the amount of community transmission will also reduce the likelihood of introducing of COVID cases to higher risk settings, such as schools and long-term care facilities.

Sale of Surplus Properties to Build New Long-Term Care Homes

Earlier today, the Ontario government also announced the sale of the three following surplus properties in the Greater Toronto Area, with the requirement that long-term care homes be built on portions of the properties:

  • 2165 Dundas Street West, Oakville – 512 long-term care beds
  • 7231 Martin Grove Road, Vaughan – 256 long-term care beds
  • 50-100 Bloomington Road, Aurora – 128 long-term care beds

As a result of this initiative, the government expects that nearly 900 new long-term care spaces will be created.