WINDSOR, ONT. -- Windsorites are hopeful the current stay-at-home order put in place by the province will be lifted May 20, despite Ontario being advised to "stay the course" with its pandemic restrictions until COVID-19 cases decrease.
Officials indicated Monday that Ontario could see the stay-at-home order extended until June.
“Some of these conversations are happening, but at this time, I don’t have anything official,” Windsor-Essex Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed said.
Ahmed offered little insight Monday morning regarding current talks with the province after local medical officers of health sent a letter to Premier Doug Ford on Friday asking for an extension in the emergency measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 variants.
“At this time there is no official word, so there has been lots of consideration, most importantly, how to open it up. What criteria? What indicators to look at,” Ahmed explained.
If the stay-at-home order, which is due to expire on May 20, is extended by two weeks it would last until June 2.
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott indicated that the decrease in cases since the peak of the third wave in April isn’t enough to loosen the restrictive measures. She said the province is looking for a "pretty significant drop" in case numbers and ICU admissions before lifting the order.
"The medical experts have been very clear that we need to stay the course right now," Elliott told reporters at Queen's Park on Monday.
Residents in Windsor were mixed on the idea of the current order being extended again.
“I am a very cautious person,” said Bianca DeLuca, “However, I feel that if everyone follows the rules, perhaps we should open up for the economy.”
DeLuca tells CTV News she hopes to see her grandchildren in Toronto once the restrictions are eased and wants to see the current order expire as planned on May 20.
“I think if everyone does their part, we will be okay,” she said.
Others agree.
“It’s a bit stressful you know?” Steve Toth of Windsor said. “Constantly being locked up in a home and not really socializing with the rest of the community, it’s somewhat depressing, frustrating.”
Nicole Johnson wants to see the order end so she can return to work in her salon.
“It kind of sucks because we can’t open right now, I’m just making use of my time, staying healthy, exercise a little and keep busy,” Johnson says she’s not entirely optimistic. “You still see a lot of cases around. There still seems to be a lot of problems so I don’t know how you’re going to fix that in a week.”
