TORONTO – Despite everything, there are conditions for a first easing of restrictions. This is what Ontario Premier Doug Ford said when he announced that from tomorrow gyms, restaurants, theaters, casinos – everyone can open at 50% of the capacity – and indoor social gatherings will increase from 5 to 10, outdoors they can reach 25. In addition, it will be possible to consume food or drinks at indoor sporting events, in concert halls, theaters and cinemas: masks will be required when people are not busy drinking or eating. 

It was January 5 when Ford said new restrictions were needed to combat the Omicron wave but now, the premier said, key indicators are generally positive with hospital stays falling, new admissions slowing and absenteeism of hospital staff declining.

In fact, a few days ago the nurses’ unions, hospital workers and teachers denounced a crisis in health care and education: what the trade unions were calling for was immediate action that included sick days, protective equipment for all frontline workers and the repeal of the ford government’s salary cap bill.

But despite the high number of infections caused by Omicron and, even more recently also by the BA.2 sub-variant, hospitalizations that exceed 3 thousand, hospitalizations in intensive care units at 587 as well as daily deaths that are around 50-60, the government believes that the time has come to breathe a sigh of relief to many workers penalized by the restrictions.

A series of suspended health services will also resume, including diagnostic ones, cancer screening but the stop to elective surgical interventions is still in place.

Ford’s plan calls for the gradual end of restrictions over the next two months, but mandatory vaccines remain in place for the foreseeable future. “We are taking a cautious approach,” Ford said.

This first easing of restrictions – the next ones are scheduled for February 21 and March 14 – are frowned upon by NDP leader Andrea Horwath, who says Ontario residents want to reopen the province but cannot afford another step back that could be the consequence of the haste with which the government has moved. “And so I would ask the government to consider a series of measures that would make the reopening even safer and could also guarantee the possibility of remaining open – said Horwath – for example, we need to restore the tests … people need information to be able to do the right thing and protect themselves and others.”

Liberal leader Steven Del Duca has called for vaccination certificates to also include the booster dose – fully immunized is usually defined as having received two doses of an approved Covid-19 vaccine – but so far Ford has rejected the idea of imposing a third dose.