Ontario’s Minister of Northern Development fully supports the two-week extension of the stay-at-home order.
Greg Rickford says the move was made out of an abundance of caution.
“We’re no longer talking about the original COVID here. It (variant) persists and potentially flourishes,” he says. “I mean, right next door to Manitoba, we have an Ontario equivalent of more than 6,000 cases a day.”
Rickford says we know how fast the variants can spread and how a surge can happen within two weeks.
The Kenora-Rainy River MPP says the decision was the smart move at this moment.
“If we could hold out for a couple of more weeks, we can get more than two-thirds of our province vaccinated. Vaccinations are going very well up here in the riding [which will] put ourselves in a position to not have to revisit these kinds of restrictions,” he adds.
Rickford is asking everyone to follow the public health guidelines.
He believes by following the rules we will return to some form of normalcy in June.
Rickford adds he appreciates everyone’s patience and understanding during this difficult and stressful time and urges everyone to stay safe and support local businesses.
