Premier Doug Ford has officially extended Ontario's stay-at-home order another two weeks to June 2 as the province tries to control the spread of COVID-19.
Ford made the announcement on Thursday. The order was set to expire on May 20 ahead of the Victoria Day long weekend.
“That is why I expect that by June 2, as long as we stay the course, we able to reopen outdoor recreation by then we will provide more details of our plan to carefully and safely reopen the province,” Ford said.
The stay-at-home order was first implemented on April 8 to last six weeks in an effort to curb surging cases and hospitalization rates in the province.
The government had already taken steps towards maintaining restrictions — last week it extended the state of emergency to June 2, paving the way for the premier to prolong the stay-at-home order under that declaration.
Read more: COVID-19: Ontario government looking to extend provincewide stay-at-home order into June
On Thursday, Ontario reported 2,759 new cases as the provincial total pushed past 500,000 cases. However, active cases, the seven-day average and patients in ICUs have steadily declined over the last couple weeks.
Earlier this week on Monday, Ontario Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams said at a press conference he’d like for cases to be under at least 1,000 a day to see an easing of restrictions.
— More to come.
— With files from Jessica Patton.
