05-29-2020, 02:52 PM
(05-29-2020, 02:42 PM)MidTowner Wrote: Ford says he is considering regional reopening of Ontario as new testing strategy rolled out
This is a change from what Premier Ford was saying a week ago, saying that the entire province has to reopen together. It's a no-brainer, though, that in a province this size we would have different strategies in different areas. Sudbury has had no new cases for almost two weeks, and no active cases, so why is the list of businesses closed the same as in Toronto? Waterloo Region has a per capita case load less than a quarter of Peel's, so why are playgrounds here still closed, why are fines being issued for private gatherings larger than five?
As for the arguments against, the ones brought up by Ford and Williams are, respectively, that someone would drive from Toronto to Kingston for dinner, or to another jurisdiction for a haircut. But there might not be many regions ready for barber shops to open anyway- what about things like child care and some additional workplaces, that people are unlikely to seek out in different regions?
It does seem to make sense that different areas would open different.
As for the "fines" they have nothing to do with that, fines should be issued for people breaking the rules (after receiving warning), whether you agree with the rules or not. There is not a systemic problem here with the rules, and they are changing, if you get ample warning, you have no excuse.
That being said, I do think that private gatherings are probably some of the last things which should be opened up. I'm no epidemiolist, but from my understanding and my reading, outdoor is better than indoor, farther is better than closer, shorter is better than longer, and less people is better than more people.
Personal visits might meet the less people criteria, but they fail on basically every other count, yes, some people will sit on opposite ends of their back yard, but I suspect most people who have company will spend some time indoors, and in closer proximity as a result.
Same follows for businesses.