High vaccinations, low cases: When is it safe to lift COVID-19 restrictions?
Global News
As COVID-19 cases fall in many Canadian jurisdictions, some politicians are talking again about reopening. Experts are mixed in their response to loosening restrictions.
With Ontario’s COVID-19 case numbers plateauing in recent weeks, Premier Doug Ford announced Friday afternoon the province’s new plan for gradually lifting remaining restrictions.
Beginning Monday, the province is lifting capacity limits on restaurants, gyms, indoor event spaces and other venues where proof-of-vaccination is currently required, and anticipates lifting proof-of-vaccination controls in some venues starting in the new year.
B.C. also announced earlier this week that it will be lifting capacity limits on indoor gatherings, while Quebec will lift capacity limits on bars and restaurants starting Nov. 1.
But, we’ve been here before. When Ontario lifted restrictions in early 2021, case numbers shot up. The same happened in Alberta over the summer.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try easing restrictions, said Dr. Anna Banerji, a pediatric infectious disease specialist and associate professor in the University of Toronto’s department of medicine and school of public health.
“I think that now is a good time to cautiously open things up,” she said. Although opening up too quickly risks a resurgence in cases, opening things carefully and using tools like proof-of-vaccination requirements could be safe,” she said.
“When they’re opening up stadiums to 20,000-30,000 people with no spacing between, it really doesn’t justify keeping things like restaurants closed,” she said.
Mike Willis, a heart transplant recipient from Guelph, Ont., agrees.