Ford set to make rare weekend announcement amid rising COVID-19 case numbers

TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford is set to make a rare weekend announcement this morning related to COVID-19.

No details have been made immediately available, but Health Minister Christine Elliott and the province’s associate chief medical officer of health, Dr. Barbara Yaffe, will also be on-hand.

Ford suspended weekend pandemic briefings over the summer as case numbers across the province declined.

But they’ve spiked again in recent weeks, with Ontario reporting 401 new COVID-19 cases on Friday.

Most of the new cases are concentrated in Toronto, Peel Region and Ottawa, prompting Ford to roll back social gathering limits in those areas earlier this week.

The premier has said he plans to tighten restrictions in other areas as well, often at the request of local officials.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2020.

The Canadian Press