Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks at Father Leo J Austin Catholic Secondary School, in Whitby, Ont., on July 30, 2020.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Premier Doug Ford says he would prefer parents not take their children trick or treating this Halloween as the province struggles to keep its COVID-19 case numbers under control.
Ford says the idea of children going door-to-door this year for Halloween as the pandemic continues makes him “nervous”.
The premier says while it is still a month and a half away, he will want to discuss the issue with the province’s health experts.
Ford says he is concerned because it is difficult to say where the province’s virus case count will be by the end of October.
Ontario has seen a steady increase in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, and reported 170 new cases today, including one more death.
There were also 142 cases newly marked as resolved over the past 24 hours.
The total number of cases in Ontario now stands at 43,855, which includes 2,814 deaths and 39,474 cases classified as resolved.
Health Minister Christine Elliott said 28 of the province’s 34 public health units are reporting five or fewer new cases. She said 55 new cases were reported in Toronto, 28 in York Region and 22 in Peel Region.
The province completed 24,669 tests over the previous day.
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