THUNDER BAY - As of today, restrictions on social gatherings have been increased from five people to 10, but the province is also allowing the people of Ontario to form social circles to aid those who have been feeling isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is a very important step forward,” said Premier Doug Ford during his daily media briefing on Friday. “This change will expand the number of people we can come in contact with outside of our homes. This means finally hugging your grandparents, sharing a meal with your parents or friends.”
The announcement comes as regions across the province were permitted to enter stage two of reopening, which allows more businesses and services to open to the public.
The social circle of no more than 10 people differs from the restrictions on social gatherings, which is also no more than 10 people.
Social gatherings refer to any 10 people and physical distancing must be practiced.
Social circles means people can now interact with others outside of their immediate household without practicing social distancing.
According to Minister of Health Christine Elliott, forming a social circle should consist of five steps, beginning with your current social circle of people in your household or with whom you come into regular contact.
If that social circle is under 10 people, others can be added from outside of your household or family.
Everyone must agree that they want to be part of your social circle and those who are part of one social circle should continue to practice physical distancing with anyone outside of that group and people should be part of only one social circle.
"Ontarians should think of their circles as the people they can touch, hug and come into close contact as we continue our shared fight against COVID-19," Elliott said.
"While this is an exciting step forward, every Ontarian should follow the advice provided by our public health experts to ensure they do so safely and in a way that limits the spread of this virus, including and especially by only being part of one circle. We all owe it to each other to act responsibly."
The announcement comes after the province recorded less than 200 new COVID-19 cases over a 24-hour period, the first time since March 28. Across the province, 17 health units reported no new cases in the past day.
“On a day when most of Ontario is proceeding to stage two, we reached an important milestone,” Elliott said. “The province saw it’s lowest day over day increase since March 28.”
People are still advised to practice all public health guidelines such as hand washing and avoiding people when sick.
But chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams, said allowing people to interact more will carry many health benefits.
“Not only will social circles help to improve people's mental health and reduce social isolation, they will support rapid case and contact tracing by limiting the number of close contacts, in the event of a case of COVID-19 in that circle," Williams said.
