Widespread vaccination may have changed the shape of the fight against COVID-19, but the pandemic remains a dangerous public health threat, Premier Doug Ford told Ontario’s municipal leaders Monday.
Speaking on the first morning of the 2021 Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference, Ford said the emergence of the Delta variant, which has spiked infection rates to new highs in some parts of the United States, showed the importance of maintaining vigilance against the virus.
“You only need to look south to see what can happen if we let our guards down, and how quickly a variant can devastate an unvaccinated population,” he said.
Continuing progress on vaccinations would be key, Ford said. His government announced Monday it would require vaccination clinics at public schools as part of its efforts to expand coverage.
Municipalities should be proud of the role they’d played in supporting vaccine rollout efforts so far, the premier said, while touting billions in support offered to municipalities through federal-provincial relief funding.
"Case counts don’t mean what they used to, because we have so many people vaccinated," he said.
As of Monday, just over 81.5 per cent of Ontarians 12 and older had received at least one shot (71.52 per cent of the total population), while 73.5 of those 12 and over were fully vaccinated (64.5 per cent of the total population).
The AMO conference is a major annual gathering for municipal leaders, offering access to provincial ministers and opposition leaders, along with information sessions and workshops.
