Thousands of people wait over six hours for their COVID-19 vaccine at a pop-up mass vaccination clinic at Jimmie Simpson Recreation Centre during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on June 17, 2021.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Waterloo Region moving to Step 3 of reopening plan with the rest of Ontario
An Ontario region that delayed its reopening due to a surge in Delta COVID-19 variant cases will lift restrictions along with the rest of the province this week.
Waterloo Region says it will join other public health units in moving to Step 3 of Ontario’s reopening plan at 12:01 a.m. on Friday.
The changes will allow indoor dining and gyms to reopen, as well as expand crowd limits on social gatherings and other events.
The region delayed entering the second step of the reopening plan, which allowed hair salons and other venues to open, due to the spike in cases.
But the top doctor for the region said Tuesday that public health indicators have stabilized and vaccination rates have increased rapidly.
Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang also encouraged residents to get their second vaccine doses and continue following public health orders as the Delta variant remains a threat.
Ontario is reporting 146 new cases of COVID-19 today and seven more deaths linked to the virus.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says there are 43 new cases in Toronto, 36 in the Region of Waterloo, and 13 in Peel Region.
She says there are also 11 in Hamilton and 10 in Middlesex-London.
Today’s data is based on nearly 17,500 tests.
The Ministry of Health reports that 192 people are in intensive care due to the virus and 123 people are on a ventilator.
Elliott says that 176,834 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were administered since Monday’s report for a total of more than 17.2 million doses.
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