THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay medical officer of health Dr. Janet DeMille sees clear indications of a second wave of COVID-19 in recent provincial trends.
However, she sees no need to clamp down on gathering sizes or impose other restrictions given a still-encouraging regional picture.
The 401 new COVID-19 cases reported on Friday marked Ontario’s highest single-day total since early June. It’s part of a worrying trend, DeMille said.
“We’re seeing rising numbers across the province,” she said. “The whole pattern of what is happening, especially in those larger centres like Ottawa, Toronto, and Peel really does suggest we’re entering the second wave as a province.”
The rising numbers led the provincial government to lower caps on social gatherings in those three areas on Thursday, to a maximum of 10 people indoors (previously 50) and 25 outdoors (previously 100).
There’s no basis yet for tightening restrictions in this region, DeMille said, with the region still in a “very good situation.”
However, she noted that could change as the Thunder Bay District Health Unit carefully watches developments across the province.
The timing of implementation for such measures is a delicate balance, since it usually takes up to two weeks to get a clear picture of emerging trends.
“I’m trying to find that right balance of not imposing very significant measures that impact people’s live before it’s necessary, but also recognizing that you do want to get them in early,” DeMille explained. “These are active conversations that are happening across the province, and I think we’re going to see more happen over the next week or two.”
At least one of DeMille’s counterparts, the medical officer of health for Middlesex-London, has already asked the province to include his district in the new, stricter limits, after reporting nearly 50 new cases over the past week.
The health unit announced the Thunder Bay district’s first new case since Aug. 24 on Thursday.
DeMille declined to cite a benchmark for when she’d consider supporting stricter limitations in the district, saying the call couldn’t be boiled down to a number.
“There’s not an absolute number, it’s really the pattern – what the numbers are telling us,” she said. “We don’t want to close down again – we want to do something different this time. So we’re going to learn a lot about what’s happening in Toronto and those other centres, and then apply those lessons here.”
One of the early lessons, DeMille noted, is that social gatherings do indeed appear to be the culprit behind the recent growth in cases.
“What we know is social gathering is driving the increase in cases: It’s people gathered together in their homes, attending events like weddings, socializing together,” she said.
She urged people to ensure they followed all guidelines if participating in a gathering, such as monitoring physical distancing and wearing masks.
“It might seem awkward, it might seem kind of unnatural, but it’s fundamentally what we need to do,” she said.
