Statement From Premier on One Year Anniversary of Pandemic Declaration

Premier "confident will get through this crisis together"

Doug Ford noting " A year ago today the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic marking the start of one of the grimmest chapters in modern health history. Ontario has tragically lost more than 7,000 lives to this deadly virus. We offer our deepest condolences to the families, friends, colleagues, and all of those impacted by these tragic losses of life.

Over the past year the vast majority of people have followed public health restrictions to stop the spread, and we recognize the extraordinary burden this has placed on individuals, families and businesses across Ontario. And the uncertainty created by the pandemic has had a devastating impact on our collective mental health — especially that of young people who have been forced to put their lives on hold, and seniors who have had to isolate themselves from friends and family.

But this crisis has been met with incredible acts of kindness, compassion and generosity.

Our frontline health care workers have stepped up in our hospitals, long-term care homes, and congregate settings to care for our sick and most vulnerable citizens, and our public health units have led local response efforts and worked to protect the health of our communities Businesses across the province retooled their operations to produce personal protective equipment, masks, gowns, gloves face shields and hand sanitizer to protect our essential workers. An army of volunteers came forward to help others through incredible acts of kindness like delivering meals to our seniors. 

We have also seen the tremendous determination and personal sacrifice of our essential workers including our first responders who are keeping us safe, those working in the agri-food sector who are keeping food on our tables, and those operating our transit systems, our water and energy systems to ensure we continue to receive the basic services we all count on each and every day.

Now with the approval of four vaccines in Canada, I am hopeful that this could mark the beginning of the end of COVID-19."