Ford government planning 'safe reopening' of economy

Premier Ford addressed media Monday, providing an update on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ford started by giving his condolences to the communities in Nova Scotia impacted by the shooting spree.

"To have an unthinkable, active evil rip into their community... Nothing could be worse," said Ford.

Premier Doug Ford has asked the recovery comity for a gradual, measured, and safe reopening of the province based on the data presented earlier today.

Health officers said Ontario is expecting 20,000 cases in this wave of the pandemic, aligning it with the "best case" that was previously set.

"We're now looking at a much lower number, hopefully under 20,000 cases, in this wave of the pandemic," said public health dean Prof. Steini Brown earlier on Monday.

"That frame work must have strict criteria... that must be met before lifting or easing restrictions. This frame work will be informed by the opening on going monitoring of the trends," said Ford of the figures.

Health Minister Christine Elliot says she believes that the province has avoided a significant growth of cases, saying the rate of growth has stabilized, with the virus having likely peaked. She noted that the province is trending towards a best-case scenario.

"Hope is important, but indeed these numbers are not an accident. They are a result of months of planning and collective action," Elliot said.

Elliot says that there are still hundreds of cases being reported each day, saying that the scope and scale of testing has increased.