Toronto officials may shut down parks after thousands gather on Saturday

Toronto officials expressed discontent on Saturday after large crowds gathered at a downtown Toronto Park to enjoy the weather decided to ignore the physical distancing protocols.

Thousands of people congregated at Trinity Bellwoods Park, near Queen Street West and Ossington Avenue, despite repeated calls from public health officials to avoid large gatherings as Ontario continued to see a rise in new COVID-19 cases after being on the decline for a number of weeks.

Toronto Mayor John Tory said he was disappointed to see so many people breaking the social distancing rules.

“I was by a number of other parks today, and there were parks that were reported to me as being perfectly in compliance with the physical distancing and people got the message. People knew what they had to do to stop the spread of the virus,” Tory said.

“And yet for some reason at Trinity Bellwoods, people were engaging in just incredibly disappointing behavior.”

There are to be more police and by-law officers present at the downtown park in an effort to enforce the social distancing protocols.

Tory said he went to the park on Saturday night to talk to some of the people about what happened.

“I know these people are smart enough because I talked to them tonight. And I know that they know that we’re in a crisis here and we’re trying to get their help to make sure that we cannot go backwards,” the mayor said.

Though parks mostly stayed opening during the pandemic, Tory said he would push to have the parks closed if the situation at Trinity Bellwoods does not improve.

“They want to be in the park to give themselves a break from being confined to their quarters for the last several weeks, and it’s a nice day. I get all that, but I also get the fact that people have died in the city,” Tory said.

“And I was telling them that, unfortunately, more people are dying, and the numbers are going the wrong way. And that they have to be part of the solution, not become part of the problem,” Tory said.

Toronto Public Health reported 220 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, raising the city's total to 9,835. Of that number, 750 people have died and 7,202 have recovered.

Ward 10 Councillor Joe Cressy said he was disappointed to see that the physical distancing rules were not being taken seriously.

"It's dangerous, and frankly, it's selfish," Cressy said. "We are by no means out of the woods yet."

He added that Toronto has not see a spike in cases, but the gathering of large crowds could put the city in danger of a second wave.

Cressy said that the city had received concerning reports on Saturday regarding the situation at Trinity Bellwoods.

“This type of behaviour, it’s unacceptable,” he said.

Cressy has been in touch with city staff to adjust the planning for Sunday to avoid another over-sized gathering.

“We want to make sure that people can get outside,” Cressy said. “But if people don’t respect the rules, we can’t allow it to happen.”

“You’re putting yourself, your parents, your grandparents, and your friends at risk. So, grow up.”

Though the city has added officers to monitor problematic parks, including Trinity Bellwoods, there is concern that it will not do much to contain and control thousands of people who may show up at the park.

Toronto police Const. Alex Li said it is a challenge for officers to break up large groups safely while enforcing the law.

“I am aware that there are officers there, as well as the city by-law officers that are on the scene. They are monitoring the situation,” Li said.

“But again, we want to reiterate the fact that please do continue practicing physical distancing.”