It appears Ontario's premier is in no rush to see the border with the U.S. reopen to non-essential traffic.
Doug Ford was a guest by telephone on Blackburn Radio Wednesday morning.
While remaining noncommittal as to whether Canada should fully reopen the border July 21, he told Sue Storr he's concerned about the COVID-19 upsurge in the U.S.
"We're right on the border with Michigan, they have some of the highest cases in the U.S. along with New York State, and that really concerns me" Ford said. "I'd like to recommend to everyone let's support Ontario, let's show up at Grand Bend, and support Sarnia region."
Ontario extended its emergency declaration Wednesday until July 15 as the province gradually reopens on a regional basis.
Ford said he expects two to four weeks between Stage 2 and Stage 3 provided the provincial caseload continues to trend in the right direction.
The premier also addressed long-term care.
He said he's focusing 100 per cent on having improved seniors' care beyond the pandemic, and acknowledged concerns expressed by Sarnia council this week about inspections.
"We did close to 3,000 inspections but they're going to have to be more rigorous," he said. "They're going to have to be in there for longer periods and making sure that we hold these homes accountable, no matter if they're public or private sector."
Monday, city council agreed unanimously to encourage Ontario's 444 municipalities to ask the premier to immediately start taking action to improve long-term care.
On the issue of wearing masks, Ford said he will not be making it mandatory but he encourages people to wear them.
Lambton Medical Officer of Health Dr. Sudit Ranade said residents generally shouldn't be worried about wearing masks for prolonged periods.
"There's very little that indicates that wearing a mask for long periods of time is damaging or harmful to one's personal health," said Ranade. "Obviously having said that if you have any condition which may make breathing more difficult then it may not be advisable to wear a mask at all or to wear them for only a short time."
-With files from Sue Storr
Listen to the full interview with the premier here:
[audio mp3="https://blackburnnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Premier-Ford-June-24-2020.mp3"][/audio]
