'Trending in the wrong direction': York Region going into lockdown on Monday

'The bottom line is, the decision has been made. It's been made by the provincial medical officer of health, and now it is our job as a municipality and as residents to support it,' says Newmarket's mayor

After weeks of continuing to "trend in the wrong direction" in its battle against COVID-19, Newmarket and York Region are going into lockdown starting on Monday, Dec. 14.

"Over the last week, public health indicators in the York and Windsor regions have continued to trend in the wrong direction and it is evident additional measures are needed to help limit the spread of the virus," said Ontario's chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams, regarding the announcement today that both York Region and Windsor Windsor-Essex County would be moving from the red control zone to the grey lockdown zone in the province's reopening framework.

"Moving a region into grey lockdown is not an easy decision, but it is one we needed to make in order to help stop the spread of the virus and safeguard the key services we rely on," said Deputy Premier, Minister of Health and Newmarket-Aurora MPP Christine Elliott in a news release.

"As we enter the holiday season and as the province prepares to receive its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines, it remains crucial for all Ontarians to continue adhering to public health advice and workplace safety measures to reduce the spread of the virus and keep each other safe."

Newmarket Mayor John Taylor is not surprised by the decision and disappointed that it had to come to this. But he said he knows it was a hard decision for the province; he respects it and asks that all residents do the same.

"The region, myself and our medical officer of health continue to believe that we should have remained in the red zone and would have definitely liked to have seen that last until Christmas," said Taylor.

"(But) the bottom line is, the decision has been made. It's been made by the provincial medical officer of health, and now it is our job as a municipality and as residents to support it.

"The more fully we support and comply with the guidelines they give us during the lockdown, the better we do, and the quicker that we can end it. So my message to residents is, whether you agree with it or not, it is in everyone's best interests to respect this decision."

York Region has been battling the move to lockdown for the last few weeks, when Toronto and Peel were moved to lockdown, and York Region medical officer of health Dr. Karim Kurji had continued to recommend to the province that the region remain in the red control zone with ramped-up enforcement measures.

Increased enforcement resulted in more than 1,000 inspections of businesses over the Black Friday weekend alone.

But by early December, the incidence rate of COVID-19 in York Region was 102 per 100,000 residents, which was just barely lower than the incidence rate in Toronto when it was put under lockdown.

Hospitals in York Region have started to operate over their intended capacity, including Southlake Regional Health Centre, which as of last week was at 118 per cent of its capacity — not including the birthing unit, mental health beds, or pediatrics.

This week, the CEOs of Southlake Regional Health Centre, Mackenzie Health and Markham Stouffville Hospital issued a joint statement saying that their battle against COVID-19 had reached a “tipping point.”

"By making this difficult but necessary decision, we can help to ensure that hospitals in these regions can work to provide patients with the care they need when they need it, including the performing of scheduled surgeries and other important procedures," said Williams.

"We have been emphasizing that we are at the sweet point of increased enforcement, red zone controls, and good case contact and outbreak management, versus the mental health effects, social isolation effects, as well as the ruination of businesses," Kurji told regional council on Thursday.

However, he said it had become increasingly clear that the province was leaning toward placing York Region in a lockdown.

"In terms of my discussions with the chief medical officer of health, it seems to be that we are virtually going to go into lockdown, unless something else happens in their discussions,” Kurji said Thursday.

Even with a lockdown looming, regional council yesterday passed a motion asking for restaurant restrictions to be loosened, much to the dismay of Taylor who felt it would send exactly the wrong message to Queen's Park.

Here are the public health regions that will move from their current levels in the framework to the following levels for a minimum of 28 days effective Monday, Dec. 14 at 12:01 a.m.: