Niagara's top doctor says the province needs to take a slow and cautious approach to re-opening.
Dr. Mustafa Hirji tells us that while things have improved a lot, the Delta variant remains a huge concern in both Ontario and in parts of the United States.
He cited the example of the U.K., which took a similar approach to re-opening, and has seen four to five times the amount of new cases related to the Delta variant in the last few weeks.
While Ontario has met the vaccination threshold for step three, Hirji says the re-opening process can't be rushed.
"We shouldn't rush going into Step Three. We need to make see what is the impact of Step Two to make sure cases remain under control after we move into Step Two."
He went on to say that he thinks it's too early for the U.S.-Canada border to re-open, but he's hopeful that both countries will be ready for a re-opening by the end of summer.
"We're both still actively working to vaccinate our populations, and we're both seeing the Delta variant growing in number. Particularly in the U.S., we're seeing some states where infections are really taking off. So I do think things are pretty fragile and there's a lot of risk to re-open the border. I would really caution, let's hold up for another 2-3 months."
Meanwhile, in Niagara, where there have been several days with single and low double digit numbers of cases, Hirji says it's vital to get your vaccination as soon as possible, and follow guidelines for social interaction.
You can hear our full discussion with him below.
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