Toronto mayor says stricter lockdown measures should be in place during holidays

Toronto Mayor John Tory says that more lockdown measures are being considered for Toronto and the GTA as the holiday season approaches and confirmed cases of coronavirus continue to increase, CP24 reports.

The mayor says he is in discussion with Ontario Premier Doug Ford on continuing restrictions and even increasing them past Dec 21, the date that current lockdown measures are expected to end.

"Going back to the good old days, as much as we’d want to is just not in the cards, in fact, we should be doing more, not less," Tory said on Wednesday.

"We need to have something that is truly going to apply across the whole region. Because I think people are finding it too easy to move back and forth and we have to discourage them from doing so."

Under current coronavirus-related lockdown restrictions, Toronto and Peel region are under full lockdown while areas such as Hamilton are not. As a result, many Torontonians are driving to Hamilton to do their holiday shopping as Christmas approaches.

Tory also suggested that increasing restrictions over Christmas may be easier than during other times as more people will be at home with their families regardless.

"It is going to be Christmas, schools will be closed. A lot of businesses are not opening at full strength, there are holidays involved."

"I think people should look back to what we had back in the spring," Tory continued.

Ontario recorded over 2,000 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, the highest on record. The province has also reached record levels of hospitalization, with 921 patients currently being treated for coronavirus, including 267 in intensive care units.