No curfew being considered in Ontario ahead of new lockdown measures to be announced Tuesday

Premier Doug Ford says an announcement is coming on Tuesday regarding new lockdown measures for Ontario and it appears a province-wide curfew will not be among them.

Sources confirm to CityNews an overnight curfew is not being recommended by health officials at this time.

This weekend, Quebec became the first province to enforce a curfew, which led to over 200 tickets issued by police handed to people found not complying with the health and safety measures.

As for here in Ontario, the Premier said his government is ready to do what is best for the safety of its residents.

“We worked all weekend, we will be going to cabinet with recommendations,” says Ford.

The Premier is also warning of “turbulent waters” over the next several months ahead of new COVID-19 modelling data scheduled that also set to be released on Tuesday.

In a brief video tweet on Sunday, Ford says the healthcare system is on the brink of being overwhelmed and he urged Ontarians to stick together as it will be late spring before mass vaccination is available.

“I’m asking one more time we need to band together, we need to stick together. We’re going to see some real turbulent waters over the next couple of months,” Ford said.

“The healthcare workers, the hospitals, the public health units are all doing everything they can to make sure we vaccinate as many people as possible. Mass vaccination won’t happen till April, May and June but until then, over the next few months we need to practice the social distancing and washing hands.”

The premier noted that while officials are working to vaccinate people quickly, mass inoculation won’t happen until “April, May, and June.”

On Friday, Ford offered an ominous hint about what to expect, telling Ontarians “you will fall off your chair” when the new data is released.

As of Sunday, the seven-day average for new COVID-19 infections was 3,546.

“They are actually scary numbers, this is crunch time right now,” he said.

When it comes to possible new restrictions, sources tell 680 NEWS that no decisions have been made, but that recommendations on further lockdown measures will be put forth to cabinet by the health table on Monday for approval.

While a recent public opinion poll found a majority of Ontarians support continuing and even enhancing current lockdown measures, it was also clear that many draw the line on restrictions that would limit their movement outside of their homes, such as a curfew.

Quebec will be under a curfew until Feb. 8 and anyone outside of their home from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. without a valid reason will be subject to infractions.

Ontario surpassed 200,000 total coronavirus cases last week, only six weeks after it topped 100,000 cases back on Nov. 20.