The group of scientists advising the Ford government on its pandemic response is set to release new modelling projections for the first time in 2022 Tuesday morning.
The Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table said that it will post the new projections to its website at around 9 a.m.
The new modelling comes one day after Ontario formally lifted a number of public health restrictions, allowing a wide swath of businesses to reopen at 50 per cent capacity.
The Ford government has also said that it plans to lift all capacity limits for indoor settings as of March 14, so long as public health indicators continue to improve.
“We have let our lives be controlled for the last two years in a significant amount of fear and now we are going to have to change some of that thinking," Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore told reporters last week. "I think we have to start to understand we have to learn to live with this virus.”
The last time the science table released modelling was Dec. 16 and it warned “ICU occupancy could reach unsustainable levels in early January” without “prompt intervention,” including public health measures that would help to reduce contacts by at least 50 per cent.
Since then, the spread of the Omicron variant has driven an exponential growth in cases and hospitalizations but there are signs the worst is over.
On Monday, the Ministry of Health reported that there were 2,983 pxjmtzyweople hospitalized with COVID-19 across the province, down nearly 30 per cent from mid-January.
Outbreaks in the handful of settings with access to widespread PCR testing, including long-term care homes, also appear to be on the decline after reaching record highs last month.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is set to speak at 11 a.m., following the release of the modelling, at a news conference with newly-minted Long-Term Care Minister Paul Calandra.
RELATED IMAGESview larger image
Ontario Premier Doug Ford holds a press conference at Queen’s Park regarding the easing of restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Thursday, January 20, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
