Ontario's top doctor links COVID-19 spike with people ignoring party rules

Ontario has seen more than 100 new cases of COVID-19 per day for five days in a row now, sparking some concern about a second wave as back-to-school and flu season approach — and officials are still blaming people going out and partying for the recent spike.

When speaking about the state of the pandemic in the province at a media briefing on Monday, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams said that the latest numbers can be attributed to outbreaks in institutions, along with "people in gatherings and groups still disregarding the public health recommendations and being less than vigilant in adhering to the public health measures."

As has been the trend nationwide in recent weeks, cases are still focused in larger urban centres (Toronto, Peel and Ottawa in Ontario), and are still predominantly among young people, which is a stark contrast to earlier in the health crisis.

Residents aged 20-39 have accounted for 31 per cent of all cases at this point, which is more than any other individual age group, and represented a whopping 47 per cent of new cases over the weekend and 41 per cent of new cases in the last seven days.

Williams echoed the pleas of Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa, asking people to continue heeding guidelines around mask wearing, hand washing, and staying home when feeling sick or after potential exposure to keep numbers down and hopefully drop them further.

He also said that, despite some hopes to expand gathering and capacity limits for indoor spaces, the province is currently just trying to make sure that Stage 3 continues to proceed in a "safe and consistent" way.

Meanwhile, officials such as de Villa are advising citizens to gear up for a resurgence and perhaps an even stricter lockdown this fall and winter.