Premier Doug Ford is closing more sectors of the economy following the stark and sobering numbers revealed to the people of Ontario at Friday’s press conference.

Starting on Sat., April 14 at 11:59 p.m. additional workplaces will be forced to close across the province. Industrial construction will stop and only necessary infrastructure projects, such as hospitals and transportation, will continue. New residential projects will come to a halt and Ford said the few sites that will remain open, will be placed under the highest level of scrutiny possible, when it comes to public safety.

“I know that businesses are struggling to stay afloat through these rough waters, but lives are on the line,” said Ford.

As of Friday afternoon, there are 3,255 infections of COVID-19 in the province. According to the province’s public health officials, there have been 67 deaths in Ontario. With the current public health interventions that are already in place, officials say Ontario could see another 80,000 cases of COVID-19, and another 1,600 deaths in the next 30 days. Had the province taken no precautionary measures, experts estimate the impact would’ve been much greater.

“Over the full course of this pandemic, which may last for 18 months or even two years … had we done nothing, Ontario may have suffered 100,000 deaths. Thankfully that’s not the position we are in,” said Matthew Anderson, president and CEO of Ontario Health.

However, Ford stressed that the government is continuing to do everything it can to help reduce the projected death toll.

“There are 1,600 people out there who need us to do everything we can, in the next 30 days, to help save them,” he said.

 

 

The Premier continued to appeal to the public to stay at home as much as possible.

“This terrible virus doesn’t discriminate … it doesn’t care about your age. Anyone and everyone is at risk. We all have to ask ourselves, what is the cost of a life?” he said. “Is a life worth a picnic in a park? … Is a life worth having a few cold ones with your buddies in the basement? The answer is no.”

Toronto has already put a social distancing bylaw in place that bans people from getting within two metres of each other in public parks and squares.

Ford also said the province is ramping up inspections of construction sites currently in progress, with more than 60 new inspectors added to the workforce and hundreds of inspectors out every day. Over the last week, Ford said they have conducted 583 inspections and shut down five constructions sites.

“We need to take action, we must take these warnings seriously,” he said. “I can’t stress this enough, the situation is extremely serious.”

The revised list of essential businesses to remain open can be found here.