Provincewide curfew not among new measures at this time: sources

An Ontario-wide curfew is not one of the measures being considered at this time as the Ford government tries to curb the surge in new COVID-19 cases and help an overburdened hospital system, sources tell 680 NEWS.

The measure was discussed at a cabinet meeting Thursday and sources say while it’s currently off the table, things could change as no final decisions have been made.

It’s believed Premier Ford and his cabinet are looking at a host of other measures that could include restrictions to non-essential construction.

No changes to daycare services are expected, according to sources.

Cabinet is expected to meet again on Friday with an announcement expected after new modelling data is released.

Ontario reported a single-day high 4,736 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday.

Earlier, Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Barbara Yaffe called the situation in Ontario “dire” and warned things will not get better unless we change our current behaviour.

“Remember what things were like last spring, when we had the stay-at-home order and what the streets were like, they were pretty much empty. They’re not empty these days. We have to go back to that, we have to think about it the way we did then.”

Solicitor General Sylvia Jones acknowledged the challenges a curfew would present in Ontario, pointing to the anti-curfew protests in Quebec.

“I think the Montreal riots speak to the challenge of both enforcing, and people’s willingness to do a curfew,” she said.

Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report