Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced on Friday (16) that he would ban most outdoor activities in the province and authorize police to stop and check people on the way. In the face of experts questioning the effectiveness of the measures, and other citizen groups worried about Ontario becoming a police province, he “kneeled down” the next day and withdrew part of the decree, calling on people to be safe when playing outside.
As the number of people hospitalized with Ontario’s new coronary pneumonia (Chinese Communist virus) hit a recent high, Ford issued new preventive measures on Friday, including closing all outdoor recreational facilities and playgrounds, prohibiting people from gathering outdoors, and also authorizing police to stop and check drivers or passersby, and at the same time extending the foot ban until next month’s 20th. Local people who are found by police to have violated the epidemic prevention measures will be fined $750 (about HK$4,660), and may face criminal prosecution if they fail to provide information to police.
However, Ontario health officials, the public and police are unhappy with the decision. Local experts believe that outdoor activities are extremely important to the mental and physical health of people under the ban, and scientific evidence also shows that the risk of transmitting the new coronavirus outdoors is lower than indoors, questioning the new restrictions are not reasonable. Local civic groups are concerned about the expansion of police powers, even Toronto Mayor John Tory said: “I’m very concerned about people being stopped and checked by the police at any time they want.” As for the province’s police have made it clear that they have no intention of exercising the new police powers, with the head of the Peel Regional Police District even assuring citizens that officers will not stop cars or passersby at will.
In the face of criticism, Ford amended some of the decrees in less than 24 hours, including allowing outdoor playgrounds to reopen, maintaining the rest of the restrictions.
To prevent the spread of a new wave of the epidemic, Canada has stepped up its efforts to vaccinate people against the new crown. The local health department announced on Saturday that a man in his 60s in Alberta had developed a rare blood clot after receiving the New Crown vaccine, jointly developed by British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and Oxford University, making it the second case in Canada, but believes the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the potential risks and will continue to closely monitor the use of all vaccines, as well as review and assess any new safety concerns.
Meanwhile, the health department is approving a new crown vaccine for children aged 12 or older, developed by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and German biotech company BioNTech, details of which have not yet been released. Pfizer said last month that phase 3 clinical tests showed its vaccine was safe and effective in children aged 12 to 15 years, with 100 percent efficacy.
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